This Dark Yet Colorful World
by Juliet116
Summary: A new canary with a blurry past appears at The Branch. Now it's up to a curious Nico to figure out what she's hiding... without revealing his own secrets in the process. NicoxOC. Happens before the movie.
1. Prolouge

"Kalli… wake up…"

I rolled to the other side of my nest in an attempt to get away from the voice and back to sleep, only to get poked on my cheek.

"Kalli, come on, don't make me drag you out of that nest"

"_fivemoreminutes…_" Gosh I was so tired; this is the last time I take care of Rafael's little mons- I mean, little angels. I swear I lost half of my feathers last night. That Carlos has some serious problems regarding other birds' feathers, and I'm not totally convinced that Eva got him tested. Maybe they say that just to convince birds to watch him and his hatchlings. I should ask Rafael about th-

My, rather pointless, train of thought was interrupted when somebird grabbed my wing and pulled me out of the nest. This took me by surprise, and with no time to react, I crashed face first on the floor.

"…Oww…"

"I warned you. Now get up, we have thousands of things to do!" I pulled myself up and came face to face with no other than my sister Anna. Her deep blue eyes were closed and there was a huge grin on her face, wings on her hips.

"And what might those _"things"_ be?" I ask while dusting myself off.

"Well," she pushed me out of the part of our hollow that can be considered my room "we have to get you ready for tonight"

"Anna, I'm really tired. Can't we do this later?" I rubbed my eyes trying to get the sleep out of them. When I was able to focus I noticed that we were in the midsection of our hollow. It consisted of a big rock with a smooth surface that we used as a table, a few match boxes of different sizes in which we kept some things, a shell with water in it and a net filled with fruit and other types of food hanging from the ceiling.

Anna led me to the table and sat me in one of the smaller stones we used as chairs. "Don't move" her voice was serious, just the way it got whenever it came to getting ready for any kind of event or party; she took this things _way_ to serious for it to be healthy.

A small purple brush landed on the table in front of me and both my brows rose. This earned me a chuckle from my sister, who looked at me with an amused expression "And for samba's sake, brush your feathers. You look like a used feather duster" with that she disappeared in her room.

I touched the top of my head with my wing, and mumbled to myself "Feather duster?" I walked back to my room and took out what used to be a mirror, but was now just a small piece. I looked at my reflection, and it took all my coordination to catch the mirror again after I dropped it. I pulled the mirror closer to my face, but the reflection was the same; my bangs, usually brushed the way I like them, were now a complete mess that made me look like a combination between a porcupine and a half blown dandelion. I may not be as picky as my sister about these things, but I care enough about my appearance to know that I _do,_ in fact, look like a used feather duster.

I went back to the main room and took the brush. Anna was still in her room, but the noises of mass destruction and growls of frustration were enough to keep me walking straight into my room without asking any questions.

I took the mirror and started brushing my bangs back in place with the small plastic brush. That thing was small, even for a canary, but it was the only one we had and we had been through too much trouble to just throw it away. I chuckled at the memory of that day.

Anna and I had been at the fruit market looking for something to eat, when a small girl approached us. The toddler had been playing under one of the stands, probably owned by her family, but ran out when she saw us. My sister was out of there in a second, flying to the safety of a rooftop but I stayed, seeing the little girl as an opportunity to get something of value.

The girl got on her knees and extended her hand at me shyly. I jump on it without a thought and chirped happily, making the infant giggle. She then took me under the stand she was before and started playing with her dolls while I stood on her shoulder and sang a few happy songs. Anna finally took the hint and came down, dragging a big bunch of grapes behind a crate without the girl noticing.

Just as Anna hid, a tall man appeared and took the girl with him. I jumped of her shoulder and stepped on something when I landed on the ground. After lifting my talon I discovered a small plastic brush, probably from the girl's dolls and decided to take it with me. Stealing from humans wasn't unusual for us, but we wanted to break the habit; unluckily, being a ten year old orphan didn't help our cause. Once we got back home, Anna couldn't thank me enough when I showed it to her and we could get rid of that bunch of twigs we had.

I finished brushing my fringe and smiled at the result; it was brushed to the left, the big one lifted up a little. I took a step back and looked at my whole face, taking in my own reflex. I had a few, very small, feathers at the side of my face. Big amber eyes surrounded by dark yellow feathers, and with three brown spots under each, stared back at me. My light yellow feathers only changed around my eyes, the tip of my two bangs and at my neck.

This was definitely an improvement from earlier this morning.

Anna and I came out of our rooms in perfect sync, to which we both smiled.

"Looking better" she said in a teasing tone. I stuck out my tongue as she laughed. She lifted something she had in her wing and gave it to me "here, it's yours"

"What is it?"

"It's a little something that you can wear tonight. You can thank me later" I shook my head and inspected the object. It was a deep green color that seemed to shine on the light. It was basically a small braid of fabric, about a centimeter long, which ended in a type o triangle with tiny pieces of glass (probably from a bottle of the same green color). I looked at it, but couldn't decipher what it was, let alone how to use it.

Anna saw the confusion in my face and took it from me. She kneeled in front of me and extended her wing "Talon". I cooked my head to the side, clearly confused.

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes, grabbed my right left and yanked it towards her, almost making me lose my balance. She wrapped the braid around my ankle, stuck my talon in the triangle and finished by getting an even smaller, thinner braid around my middle claw.

"There," she said gently "what do you think?"

I walked over to a patch of sunlight and examined the clothing. The pieces of glass were right at the top of my talon, and some of them gave the effect of going up my leg for a bit. The glass reflected the light in green rays all over the ceiling. "I love it. Thanks sis"

"No problem. Well I have to go check the plan for tonight, remember to be ready two hours before sunset" Anna flew out the entrance of the hollow and disappeared from my sight. I took off the green anklet and placed it in one of the empty match boxes.

"Oh and Kalli," I turned to see Anna hovering by the entrance "Happy birthday!" she flew inside, crushed me in a hug, and rushed out to go finish whatever crazy plan she had for my party.

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**I know I haven't done a thing in months, and that my other story is still incomplete, but I couldn't get this out of my head ok? I'm sooory, and I'll get to work soon I promise!**

**Sooo, did you liked, loved, never want to see it again? all comments and reviews are accepted, just, don't be too harsh ok?**

**And just because I have to say it, I do not own Rio. Just my OC's Kalli and Anna**

**EDIT!: I changed a sentence in how the got their brush. I had to, or it would mess up future chapters. sorry ^-^**


	2. Presents and Preparations

"Ugh, come on…!"

I chuckled at my sister's attempts to lower the net with fruit into the floor. She had been trying for at least fifteen minutes, but refused to accept my help. _She's so stubborn…_ "Need any help there sis?"

"No," she sounded like she was struggling, but her ego wouldn't let her show it "I've got this. I just need to… Yes! Ha I told you I could do it!"

I smiled at the mirror while finishing with my fringe. Apparently it had gotten _messy_ in the two hours Anna had been in town, and now I was forced to make it look better _or else_, as my sister had put it. "I never doubted you Anna" You could literally _hear_ the grin in my voice.

I could still listen to what she was doing. Something being put on the table, Anna's wings flapping, probably to get the net back on place, a yelp, the loud thump of multiple objects falling to the ground.

My brows furrowed. _Wait a moment… _I turned my head, still sitting down, just in time to see a grape role into my room and hit the wall with a very quite _'thump'_. "Anna?" My only response was a mix between a growl and a moan. I walked into the other room to find my sister trapped under the net and few of the fruits that weren't scattered all over the hollow. We looked at each other for a second.

Then I snorted and fell to the ground, clutching my stomach and laughing so hard, that I was sure our neighbors would be able to hear me.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny" she tried to get up, but fell right back down, dragged by the net "now could you get me out of here?" I wiped some of my tears away and stood up, holding the table for support. My laugh finally subsided to a small giggle by the time I took the net off of Anna's back.

"Ugh, now I have to get cleaned up. We're going to be so late; Pedro's going to kill me. It was so hard to get that place to do your party…" she stormed into her room, mumbling to herself about the feathers and other stuff I couldn't really hear. I shook my head and started to pick everything up and putting it back in the net.

I heard someone landing at the entrance, but I didn't have to turn around to know who it was; I had heard those wings since I was eleven.

"Morning Rafael"

The toucan chuckled "I'll never understand how you do that. I don't even say a word and you already know it's me!" It was true that since I was little I could recognize other birds by things that went from common things like their voices, to things like the sounds they made when they flew or landed. There was a time when I could tell a pair of identical twins apart, just by looking at their shadows. I smiled and finally turned to him.

"It's one of my many secrets" he smiled and moved forward to hug me "and what do I owe the pleasure too?" he grabbed my shoulders and pushed me away gently, the typical are-you-kidding-me? Look on his face.

"Well it's your birthday! And only turn nineteen once!" he then opened his talon and dropped a small package wrapped in leafs "I also wanted to give you this before the party".

I picked it up, trying to figure out what it was before I opened it. I looked at it from all angles, pulled the little vine that tied leafs together and even shook it a little next to my ear. It took me a second and a good look at Rafael's face to realize that I looked like a five-year old on Christmas. I coughed and stood straighter. Rafael just chuckled. I took off the vine and unwrapped the leaf to reveal a perfectly round pearl.

"Rafael…" I was in a complete loss of words, too hypnotized by the small present to even think. The considerably larger bird pulled me into another hug.

"Happy birthday Kalli".

"Guys, I hate to break the beautiful moment, but if we don't go _now_ we're going to be late" we both turned to see Anna standing next to us, not a single trace of this morning's accident with the fruit left on her feathers.

"Aww! Come on Anna!" I grabbed my sister's wing and pulled her into the hug with us "we can spare a couple of minutes. Let them wait for us" She looked surprised at first, probably thinking we would ruin her feathers or something, but then she actually relaxed and hugged us both. We stayed like that for a few minutes before my sister started freaking out about the time.

Rafael said he would see us later and left, leaving me and a paranoid Anna alone. She scrambled to her room to check herself in a mirror for the hundredth time today, while I took out my anklet from the box and placed my new present inside. I finished with my anklet just in time for my sister to push me out of our hollow and into the city.

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**Really small filler. nothing special, but I needed it.**

**Finally Nico will appear in the next chapter (about time)**

**Now, I never do this, but I will answer the reviews here. that is if I get them *hint hint*: **

**EmmerzK: glad ur liking it ^-^. and it's coming towards the door, the windows and all emergency exits ;)**

**so don't own Rio or Rafael, just Anna and Kalli. plz R&R :D**


	3. Best Performers In Rio

**Aghh! school it's taking all my free time away! anyways... here's chapter 3!**

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The flight to the city wasn't very long, but it was really beautiful. It was about an hour and a half before sunset, and the clouds started to get an orange shade. Anna kept talking –a little more like rambling- about how great this whole night was going to be, how amazing the place was (a samba club called _The Branch_), and about how cute every single guy we flew by was. I pretty much tuned her out after the last part.

Don't get me wrong, they were all really cute, but someone has to be focused on the sky or we'll end up flying into a building. And trust me, it's happened before, and it's _not_ pretty.

"Anna, where did you say this place was?" I looked down at the streets, but wasn't able to find anything that looked remotely like a samba club. She turned to me, finally snapping out of her little world, and focused on the maze of houses below us. She stayed in the same place for a minute, with me hovering nearby, before pointing to a small alley not far from our location.

"There," she smiled and did a small flip in the air "this is going to be amazing, you're going to love it!" I couldn't help but smile myself. We took off towards what, from the air, looked like a huge pile of crates, trash cans and other kinds of debris, all covered by a tent. For a second I even doubted if Anna was confused. That was until I heard the music.

Loud music came from inside and the multicolored lights that escaped from between the crates illuminated the walls of the alley. There was a small crowd outside but, for what I could hear, the majority was already inside. My sister took a step forward and turned to look at me from over her shoulder "You ready?"

"You kiddin' me?" we linked wings before chorusing "I was born ready!" We laughed all the way to the entrance.

We walked in a small space between two wooden boxes, just big enough for a macaw to fit through, and my eyes widened to the point where I thought they would get out of their sockets. The place was even bigger of what I thought it would be, and the music and lights from outside were only a small taste of what they were in here. A stage of multiple levels and a band with improvised instruments, a light projector shooting colorful rays all over the place from the top of a tall trash can, and _at least_ two hundred birds dancing and singing.

"You like it?" Anna extended her wing –the one that wasn't locked with mine- and gestured to the whole place. I could only nod, still trying to take everything in.

"Anna! yo girl, up here!" we turned in time to see a flash of red and gray land in front of us, his usual lady's man smirk clear in his beak.

"Hi Pedro" I smiled while my sister and the cardinal shared a friendly hug, then looked everywhere but each other's eyes. Anna had a crush on Pedro since they met (three weeks ago) and I was totally sure he felt the same way. It could only be more obvious if they were wearing neon light signs on their heads. But as in any other crush, it was obvious to everyone but them; I will let it go on for a while, but if neither of them make a move, I'm stepping in.

Pedro finally seemed to acknowledge my presence and hugged me, crushing my lungs in the process

"Birthday girl! Where've you been? Haven't seen you in weeks" unable to speak, I looked at Anna with a pleading look. She shrugged and gave me an apologetic look. Thankfully it only took a scolding look for her to help me –or try at least.

"Umm, Pedro, I think you're smothering her…"

"What?" he raised a brow but didn't let me go.

"She can't breathe Pedro" a third voice made Pedro turn to his right and then put me on the ground. I coughed a bit, but straightened myself enough to see the owner of the voice. He was a yellow canary, with white feathers on his chest and orange ones around his eyes, the tip of his wings and tail were a darker tone. A bottle cap rested on his head, but I couldn't tell if it had colors or an image from where I was standing. He was looking at Pedro with a knowing –and almost mocking- smile, and I took the chance to get my breathing back to normal and my fringe back in place.

…What? First impressions are important, and even _I_ could tell he was handsome…

The cardinal walked over to the newcomer, the canary's smile growing ever so slightly.

"Too aggressive?"

The other suppressed a chuckle "A little"

"Sorry…" if his face wasn't naturally red –or covered in feathers- his blush would have been visible.

"No worries, I'm fine. Thanks for the… enthusiasm" we exchanged a smile as if nothing happened. To be honest I like Pedro. Even with his… rather explosive personality, he is a great guy, always trying to get others in a good mood. Besides, if Anna likes him enough to develop a crush, it must be for a reason.

"So man," the canary nudged Pedro in the stomach "which of them is that _special girl_ you were talking about?" not really knowing what he had just said, the canary gave us both a sly grin, and for five seconds, the awkwardness took over us completely. Fortunately for us, Pedro, being the master of improvisation he was, was able to come up with something credible.

"Yeah," He grabbed my wing and pulled me forward, placing me between himself and the other bird "she's the whole reason for this party, it's her birthday, right?" he squeezed my shoulders a bit, silently telling me to go on with the whole thing, which I did gladly.

"That's right. I'm Kalli"

The still complete stranger glanced at Pedro, then my sister, and then me. "Kalli huh?" by his tone, it was obvious that he knew what Pedro had said was improvised, probably knowing beforehand that Pedro's crush wasn't named Kalli, but opted to go on with it and question Pedro later. That is, if he _was_ planning on questioning him.

He took off his bottle cap and pressed it against his chest. Now I could see it was green, with a few dark purple waves on it "Well in that case," he took my wing and bowed, gently kissing my flight feathers "feliz aniversário, Kalli" Perfect Portuguese, combined with a beautiful rich voice; I think my heart stopped for a second back there "I'm Nico"

_Snap out of it, you just met him_. Finally listening to my common sense I started thinking straight again and smiled kindly at him. Pedro's voice made us both turn to the left, where Pedro's gaze was fixed on the stage "Nico, we're up next, let' go"

"Up for what?" Anna materialized next to me, a curious look in her face that I immediately mimicked.

"We put a little number together" Nico placed his bottle cap back on his head and sent a grin in my direction "Our gift for you". I blushed ever so slightly under my feathers, but hid it fairly well.

Pedro jumped in the air and raised his fist "Time to PAR-TY!" he then flew to the stage with Nico right behind him. I watched them disappear backstage and then felt some bird's eyes on me. Turns out it was Anna glancing at me, a knowing smile –or should I say smirk- on her beak. I raised a single brow "What?"

"Nothing" she averted her eyes to the stage, but her smirk grew. My brows furrowed.

"What?"

"You like him" well that didn't explain much. The light projector changed, and instead of shooting rays all over the club, it simply illuminated the place with a purplish light.

"Like… who?"

"Nico"

"No I don't" Ok, maybe I answered a little too fast.

"Yes you do. I know you enough to know, so don't even try lying" she poked my chest.

"Anna, I just met him, like, two minutes ago" I said matter-of-factly. She looked at me sideways and then shrugged.

"So?"

Before I could respond someone appeared on stage and everyone cheered. We saw Pedro standing in the center of the stage while Nico fluttered to where the band was.

"Okay, okay, I know we're all totally and absolutely excited tonight," this got some cheers, but they quieted down at Pedro's signal "but there's an announcement we must do" Nico then jumped on stage, giving a final thumbs up at the band and turning to face the crowd.

"Tonight we have a very special bird among us" they somehow managed to point a single light beam from the projector towards me, just as Anna blended with the crowd, leaving me alone. I waved and the crowd encouraged me by clapping and cheering. "Not only is it her very first time at The Branch, but she also turned nineteen this morning. So let's show her some love, shall we?"

Music started playing in the background and before Nico got off the stage, he gave Pedro a fist bump. This was the first time I heard Pedro singing; yes, I had heard him before, but never in a stage or in an actual performance.

"_Drinking a German beer with a Cuban cigar__, __In the middle of Paris with a Dominican bar"_he flew to one of the taller crates _"__Great head on her shoulders, she probably studied abroad__, __She transferred to Harvard from King's College in March" _Nico got to the light projector and made it work normally again, colorful light taking over the club once more.

"_She says that I'm her favorite 'cause she admires the art__. __Michelangelo with the flow, Picasso with the bars" _He pointed at himself at the "I'm her favorite" part, and I couldn't hold my chuckle back _"She's well put together like a piece by Gershwin__, __Renaissance style, tonight is picture perfect" _ Nico repapered on the stage, and Pedro came back down to meet him _"__So smile, and pack your bags real good baby__, '__Cause you'll be gone for a while, while, while"_

Nico moved forward and took the chorus by himself, his rich voice making my beak drop a little in surprise. To say that he was a "good" singer was an understatement.

"_Girl tell me how you feel__, __What's your fantasy__, __I see us on a beach down in Mexico.__You can put your feet up,__Be my señorita, We ain't gotta rush__, __Just take it slow"_They sang the next part together, dancing in the center of the stage _"__You'll be in the high life__, __Soaking up the sunlight, Anything you want is yours. I had you living life like you should__; __You say you never had it so good. __La la-la la-la la-laaa__, __You never had it so good__. __La la-la la-la la-laaa"_

They jumped off the stage and flew around the club while Pedro sang again.

"_Suffering from first class cabin fever__, __Five hour layovers from Norway to Egypt. I'm to the point like the pyramids of Giza__, __Still lean to the left like the tower out in Pisa"_they landed on each side of us, Nico next to Anna and Pedro next to me. They grabbed our wings and gave us a little spin _"__I'm feeling single baby__, __I could use a feature"_ in the final spin they changed partners, and was left with Nico. He smiled and spun me one last time before they took to the stage once more, but not before they each winked at us.

"_Swagger like Caesar, I'll get you a visa__, __We can go to Italy, and maybe see the Coliseum__, __I'll be Da Vinci if you'll be my Mona Lisa__. __So smile, and pack your bags real good baby__, __'Cause you'll be gone for a while"_

They did the chorus just like the other, first Nico and then the two of them.

"_Girl tell me how you feel, What's your fantasy, I see us on a beach down in Mexico. You can put your feet up, Be my señorita, We ain't gotta rush, Just take it slow. You'll be in the high life, Soaking up the sunlight, Anything you want is yours. I had you living life like you should; You say you never had it so good. __La la-la la-la la-laaa__, __You never had it so good.__La la-la la-la la-laaa"_

They got back to the center of the stage, standing shoulder to shoulder _"Well I've been feeling singular,__How about let's make it plural" _they danced, mimicking each other in a mirror way, which looked a little funny because of their size difference.

"_Spin the globe; wherever it lands that's where we'll go.__We'll hit up Europe, yep, and spend some Euros__, __And maybe visit Berlin, the wall's with the murals" _they slid to different sides of the stage and continued dancing from their respective sides –Nico to the left and Pedro in the right.

"_This is your month baby, sign of the Virgo__. __Private reservations, glasses full of Merlo__, __A rose, a burgundy, travel like turbo"_Nico jumped to a higher crate and used his bottle cap to mark the rhythm. Every bird started clapping along, myself included.

"_Brush up on your Español__, __We'll Barcelona bounce.__So smile, and pack your bags real good baby__, '__Cause you'll be gone for a while" _

Nico jumped down from the crate and did a perfect split, then got on his feet with one swift movement, not even using his wings for support. I must say, that was _really_ impressive.

"_Girl tell me how you feel__, __What´s your fantasy__, __I see us on a beach down in Mexico__. __You can put your feet up__, __Be my señorita__, __We ain't gotta rush__, __Just take it slow"_the stood on the edge of the stage and continued singing.

"_You'll be in the high life__, __Soaking up the sunlight__, __Anything you want is yours__. __I had you living life like you should__; __You say you never had it so good. __La la-la la-la la-laaa__, __You never had it so good__. __La la-la la-la la-laaa__, __You never had it so good__. __La la-la la-la la-laaa__, __You never had it so good__. __La la-la la-la la-laaa__, __You never had it so good__. __La la-la la-la la-laaa"_

The music died and both performers were blasted with the roar of the crowd that went from clapping and cheering, to screaming and a few whistles –some of which were from Anna and me. I was absolutely blown away by what just happened, the music still in my ears; I won't be able to get this song out of my head in weeks.

No wonder why they call them the best performers in all of Rio de Janeiro.

Suddenly I remember what Nico told me right before they left for the stage; _"__We put a little number together; our gift for you"_ my heartbeat was about to take up speed, but my ever present inner voice had to speak.

"_They put a number together 'cause they knew that they were celebrating someone's birthday. But they didn't know you before tonight; for all they knew the song was going to be for anyone"_

Thankfully I didn't have time to argue with my inner self, since Pedro and Nico came to join us in the sea of birds; at least another fifty birds had come inside during the song, and there was barely enough room to walk. The landed in front of us and soon noticed that there was a much bigger crowd now than before.

Someone pushed me from behind and I tripped forward, Pedro and Nico grabbing one of my wings each before I hit the floor. They helped me up, and while Pedro asked me if I was ok, Nico gave the guy that pushed me –a yellow macaw with green wings and tail- a look that could only be translated as "watch were you're going". It wasn't an aggressive look, but it was enough to make the macaw apologize and leave.

I looked around and located a tall wooden box in a corner, with almost no one near it. I tapped Nico's shoulder and signaled to the box with my head. He nodded and we all flew there, fluttering to a stop in the top.

The music wasn't as loud here, and we could actually talk without the need to scream.

"So, what did you think?" Pedro sat down while Nico dusted off his bottle cap. I just noticed the feathers in the top of his head, that seemed almost brushed but it was probably from always wearing that cap.

"It was amazing!" Anna and I chorused in perfect sync, earning a grin from the other two.

"Glad you liked it," Nico and Pedro bowed, the former tipping his bottle cap "'cause there's more to it"

"More?" I could only think of them doing another performance, but then they would have done it while they were on the stage…

"Yep. You can call it "phase 2" of your birthday gift" Pedro said dramatically.

"Okay… so what is it? Are you guys going to sing again?" Nico gave me an unreadable look as he came closer to me, followed by my sister.

"No, but you're close" he grabbed my shoulder and stared to turn me around, to where the stage was.

"Remember how you always said you wanted to sing on a stage?" my sister came close and looked at me, a grin on her face that actually got me nervous.

"Yeah… so, what's that have to- oh my god…"

She nodded eagerly "it's all set, you just need to choose a song to perform and get up there and sing it"

My eyes went wide and my body froze "was this your idea?"

"No, it was mine actually" we all turned to find the only bird we were missing; Rafael. He laughed at my bewildered expression and said along with my sister "Happy birthday Kalli"

I looked at the stage, then Nico and the Rafael and my sister. There was only one word that could describe how I felt:

"What?"

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**Sooo... what song do you think Kalli should sing? I would love some suggestions... 'cuase I'm still not sure about what song to use.**

**Even more important, what do you think of Nico? it took me three days and a few rewrites to actually do this, but I'm still a little nervous. was he ok, OOC, or did I actually get him right?**

**Now, let me answer your reviews:**

**Niah09: The name came out of an anime... one that I did not watch (yet), but the title seemed to fit the future plot of the story. I am SOOO happy that you like this story, and thanks for the amazingly long review. it was awesome (the longer the cooler) XD. and as you can see, you got it all right... mind reading powers XD**

**ILOVENICO1000X: awesome name, i like it :D. well they just met, and I really hope you liked it :)**

**EmmerzK: and now you have been mentioned again :D. thanks for your second review, and I hope u like the way they met :)**

**I don't own Rio, or any of it's characters (that's property of Blue Sky Studios). But Kalli and Anna are mine :D**


	4. Birthday Present: Phase Two

**We finally get a glimpse of Kalli's past! also, about the song: first, I don't own, and second, there's some explaining I must do... but that will be at the end.**

**I give you chapter 4!**

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I was sitting at the wooden box, legs dangling off the edge, thinking of what song I could perform. I had actually calmed down after a few minutes of panic, all thanks to Anna; Only took her a minute to start telling me how this was going to be awesome, and that I had always wanted to sing in a big stage in front of a huge crowd.

I vaguely remembered how Anna and I would sing made-up songs to our parents when we were younger. That was all it took to convince me to perform; well, that and the fact that Rafael had gone through all the trouble to get me on stage.

"Hey," I turned over my shoulder to see Nico walking towards me "you ready to go on stage?" he sat next to me, but I focused on the crowd of birds below us.

"I guess; I'm still not sure what to sing and…" his expecting look made voice my worries "I'm nervous, that's all. This is the first time I perform on an actual stage" I fixed my gaze on the crowd and then on my green anklet; the pieces of glass reflected the multicolored lights with every movement I made.

"Relax baby bird, you'll do great" I raised my brow –and got a little pink tone on my cheeks; it was nice for him to say that, but he had never heard me singing before. As if reading my mind, he pointed to the three birds behind us –Anna, Pedro and Rafael "Your sister and Ralfy say you've got some serious talent".

I blushed a bit. _I wonder what else they told him…_ That only made me blush harder. I'll have to ask Anna later.

"You've performed here tons of times right?" now it was his turn to raise his brow at me, his ever-present confident smile signaling me to keep talking "any advice you can give to a first timer like me?" he chuckled and looked over at the currently empty stage. He sighed and his eyes got a nostalgic look, but not a sad one. I could only assume he was remembering how his first performance was like.

"You'll be a little nervous at first, but that happens to everyone. You should have seen Pedro the first time _we_ performed"

I smirked "_only_ Pedro was nervous?"

Nico gave me a sideways glance and then smiled "Okay, I was a little nervous too; but not like him, trust me" I giggled, imagining a paranoid Pedro walking in circles backstage, trying to calm himself down. I wasn't, however, able to imagine a paranoid Nico; it was hard to imagine him in such state after watching him perform.

"You just need to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and feel the whole thing in here" he placed his wing in his chest "Trust me it gets easier once you get into the song" He gave me a reassuring smile and I couldn't help but to believe him. He was a professional after all. _Right, like you only believe him because of that._ I kicked my inner self in order to silence it.

I nodded and looked back down at the mass of dancing birds that seemed to keep growing every minute, even if Rafael had told me that they weren't letting anyone else inside because of lack of space. Apparently this place got completely packed on a regular basis.

I studied the crowd, only being able to tell some birds from others, looking for something that would calm my nerves down a little bit more. I caught a few glances, some birds smiling or waving at me since they recognized me form when Pedro and Nico introduced me. That got my pounding heart to slow down a little, and a more relaxed look took over my features.

My eyes reached the other side of The Branch, where they locked with the eyes of another bird. This one instead of waving, or simply looking somewhere else, stared at me with an intense look. I couldn't look anywhere else, being completely captured in this bird's eyes, and felt a shiver running up and down my spine; something about this bird made me feel uneasy, but it was almost… familiar.

My eyes narrowed while my brain worked full speed trying to figure out if I knew this bird or not. Even with the distance that was between us, I could tell the bird was a girl, and that she was about my size; maybe a little taller, but she was too far away to know for sure. Her feathers were a light color, but the light projector combined with the shadowy corner she was at made it impossible to know what color.

"Kalli? You okay?" Nico waved his wing close to my face, effectively snapping me out of what must have looked like me looking off into space, and then narrowing my eyes at nobody. His brow was raised a fraction of a centimeter, his wing still in front of my face.

"Huh? Y-yeah I'm fine; I just thought I saw…" I moved his wing gently, but the mysterious girl was nowhere to be found.

"Saw what?" Nico looked in the same direction I was, trying to decipher what I was looking for. I shook my head and gave him my best smile, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Nothing. I'm fine, really, just got distracted I guess"

He looked at me for a moment, but then smiled and stood up "Good," he offered me his wing, which I took while he helped me to get to my feet "'cause you're up next" I gulped and Nico glided down to the stage. I looked back to where the girl had been before one last time, before following Nico towards the stage.

* * *

"Okay, all done. Just go out there whenever you want to" Anna came back from talking with the band about what song I was going to perform. I took a deep breath and poked my head form behind the wooden board we were at; one look at the audience was all it took to send me four steps back and pin me down on the spot. I was _beyond_ scared.

"Hey," Nico stood in front of me, blocking my view of the awaiting crowd "Just remember what I told you; take a deep breath and close your eyes" he placed one of his wings on my chest and tilted my head up with the other one. He smiled at me "just feel it in here and you'll do great"

I closed my eyes and let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding, my body visibly relaxing. I smiled at him when I reopened my eyes.

"Yeah, you'll blow them away with that voice of yours! And we'll be here to cover up for you in case something goes wrong" Pedro slapped my back and I laughed nervously. Nico closed his eyes and have a half smile "Pedro…" his voice was a little warning, but the cardinal ignored it completely.

"Thanks guys" I turned to Pedro and tried to give him a black stare, but my smile ruined it "good to know you've got my back"

Anna and Rafael both gave me thumbs-up, and with that I walked out to the stage. I got the closest to the center I could until I couldn't take having everyone's eyes on me.

I turned and waved to the crowd "Hi. Nico and Pedro already presented me, but they forgot to tell you my name; I'm Kalli" the over two hundred and fifty birds took the chance to encourage me a little by cheering and clapping. Well, I couldn't say they weren't kind.

"Well, let us start" there was a couple more clapping before they quieted down, waiting for me to start. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, just like Nico had instructed me to do. I let it all out –nervousness and the deep breath- and gave the band a nod. Music started playing in the background. _Well, he goes nothing._

"_Right right, turn off the lights,__we're gonna lose our minds tonight__. __What's the deal, yo?" _I slapped my wing on my hip to the rhythm of the music _"I love when it's all too much,__5 am turn the radio up__; __Where's the rock and roll?"_I looked at the crowd as if asking them, but then shrugged and continued.

"_Party Crasher,__Penny Snatcher.__Call me up if you want gangsta.__Don't be fancy, just get dancey__. __Why so serious?" _the lights dimmed a little, before turning back on, full force, for the chorus.

"_So raise your glass if you are wrong,__In all the right ways,__All my underdogs, We will never be never be anything but loud" _I pumped my fist in the air in the last line, and the whole crowd did the same thing _"And nitty gritty dirty little freaks. Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass,__Just come on and come on and raise your glass__"_

I fluttered to where the band was playing, and sang the next part from there.

"_Slam slam, oh hot damn__, __What part of party don't you understand,__Wish you'd just freak out (freak out already)" _I gave one of the band members an elaborated fist bump and flew away, but instead of going back to the stage, I landed on one of the higher crates, right next to a green bottle.

"_Can't stop, coming in hot,__I should be locked up right on the spot__, __It's so on right now (so freaking on right now)" _I stated to clap my wings to the rhythm, and everyone followed suit to do it.

"_Party Crasher,__Penny Snatcher. Call me up if you want gangsta__. __Don't be fancy, just get dancey__. __Why so serious?" _the lights dimmed again, but this time they almost left the whole place in complete darkness before turning back to normal.

"_So raise your glass if you are wrong, In all the right ways,__All my underdogs,__We will never be never be anything but loud__, __And nitty gritty dirty little freaks" _ I started to do a dance routine that consisted of some basic hip-hop moves; it was simple, but it looked amazing with this song.

"_Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass,__Just come on and come on and raise your glass.__Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass,__Just come on and come on and raise your glass__"_I got back down to the stage and landed two inches away from the edge, walking closer to it as I sang.

"_(oh shoot my glass is empty, that sucks)__So if you're too school for cool,__And you're treated like a fool,__You can choose to let it go;__We can always, we can always,__Party on our own…" _I reached down and helped two birds up to the stage. They were parakeets, one guy and one girl; I had spotted them when I was at the crate, and they seemed to be some of the best dancers in the place.

We got to the center of the stage, the girl to my left and the guy to my right. They seemed to get what I had done before, 'cause when we started dancing, it looked like we had practiced beforehand.

"_(so raise your) So raise your glass if you are wrong,__In all the right ways,__All my underdogs,__We will never be never be anything but loud__, __And nitty gritty, dirty little freaks" _the parakeets slid gracefully through the stage and changed places, earning a loud cheer from the crowd.

"_So raise your glass if you are wrong,__In all the right ways,__All my underdogs,__We will never be never be anything but loud__, __And nitty gritty, dirty little freaks__. __Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass,__Just come on and come on and raise your glass__. __Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass,(for me)__, __Just come on and come on and raise your glass (for me)"_

The lights went off completely, leaving everything in absolute darkness and when they came back on the crowd roared with applauses, screams and loud cheers. Both dancers and I bowed gracefully and while they flew back into the crowd, I went backstage.

I only had a feather in there, when I was tackled to the ground by my sister.

"OH MY GOD! I told you! I told you it would be amazing, I knew it!" I laughed while she turned to the others "I _SOOO_ told you she had talent!"

"Yeah, that was some serious singing back there" Pedro helped us both up, holding Anna's wing just a second more than it was necessary.

"And dancing too" Rafael looked over at the crowd "who were those two you pulled up to the stage?"

"You don't know them?" Rafael shook his head, still looking at the crowd searching for the dancers.

I smirked and looked at him "but I thought Rafael knew _everyone" _He gave me a half smile and I shrugged "I don't know them; they seemed like good dancers though" just then I realized what a disaster it would have been if neither of them knew how to dance.

"I guess you do have some serious talent after all" Nico stood next to me and placed his wing in my shoulder "I told you you'd be great"

"Thanks" It was more a general comment, but my eyes stayed on his for a tad longer "to all of you. For the presents, and bringing me here, the performance, getting me on stage, just… ugh, come here" I managed to get all of them on a group hug.

When we let go I saw the two parakeets from the performance standing three feet away from us. They walked closer and stood right next to each other.

"Hi, we just wanted to thank you for getting us up there" the guy, who was a dark green color, spoke first. Then the girl, with a smooth set of light green feathers, finished for him "we've been trying to perform in here forever, but it's always packed with singers"

"No problem. You guys were amazing up there" She blushed and he extended his talon for me to shake.

"I'm Miguel, and this is my sister Sophie" she smiled and said "Nice to officially meet you"

"Well as you guys know I'm Kalli, and these are Pedro, Nico, Rafael, and my sister Anna" I pointed to every bird, and they all greeted Miguel and Sophie.

We talked for about ten minutes, before Miguel and Pedro started planning a performance together. Rafael left to talk to some birds he knew, leaving only me, the girls and Nico next to the stage.

"Well guys," Miguel landed next to his sister and stretched while Sophie yawned "we're calling it a day. See 'ya". Sophie waved to us and followed her brother to the exit. It was around one in the morning, and after the whole performance thing, it was amazing they didn't fall asleep while standing. We waved at them until they disappeared.

"I'm gonna go get Pedro and go home myself" Nico tipped his bottle cap at us and gave me a wink "I'll see you ladies later" with that he flew to where Pedro was.

"He likes you~" Anna said in a singing voice. I playfully shoved her and shoot back "Well Pedro likes you too" we both laughed, but neither of us denied what the other had said. My laughter died suddenly as I noticed two pairs of eyes on me. It was that girl from earlier and another bird; this one was a boy with gray feathers all over his body that got darker in his wings, and turned black form his forehead to the back of his neck.

They were close enough for me to see that she was, indeed, taller than me, but not by much. Gold feathers covered her body expect for her chest, that was a white color.

Realization hit me like the ground would if I fell down while flying; I did knew her, and him too, but it was almost surreal to see them again. The last time I saw them was almost ten years ago, and I had prayed for weeks after that to never see them again. But they were right there, four feet away from me, watching me like monsters pulled out of one of my nightmares.

Anna noticed my silence and followed my gaze to see what I was watching so intensely. It took her a while longer, but she recognized them too and froze; it's hard to forget birds like them.

"Anna, go get Rafael." she didn't move, and I pushed her gently in the direction I knew the toucan was, not taking my eyes from the two birds in front of me. "Go." my tone was calm, but there was some coldness in it, and it was enough to get my sister's wings to work again as she hurried to get Rafael.

The other two approached me, the girl talking to the guy, even if her words were aimed at me "Well Bruno, look who finally made time for us, aren't we lucky" there was sarcasm in her last words, but I ignored it and simply looked at them defiantly; no matter what, I will not be intimidated by this two.

Bruno simply nodded in response, his stare turning to a light glare. She gave me an expecting look and said in a completely fake happy voice "Well, aren't you going to say hi to your childhood friends?" her tone turned cold along with her expression "That's rude".

"What do you want Maia?" I stood my ground and narrowed my eyes. _Come on Anna, hurry up…_

"We came to see you of course. It is your birthday after all" she took a step forward and I took one back; if I had learned anything from Maia it was to never come too close to her. Ever.

"What, it's not like I'm going to kill you. I'm not a murder" there was a dangerous glint in her eyes and venom in her voice; it took all the strength I had not to start shaking "Not like you or the excuse of a bird you have for a sister".

I actually paled at that last comment, my breath stuck in my throat. I somehow managed to choke out words that sounded neutral.

"That was an accident, and you know it".

Some birds where watching us and at the last comment a small crowd formed around us. At this, and the fact that Maia was losing her reasonable judgment, Bruno placed a wing in her shoulder and pulled her back. Even he knew that making a scene would help no one.

"Luca sent us" he said in his deep, smooth voice. It wasn't like Nico's voice, which was kind and relaxed; Bruno's made everything sound like a threat, and this was no exception. My entire world stopped, along with my heart. No, it wasn't possible, this was all a nightmare. _How did he find us?..._

"What's going on here?" Rafael fluttered to a stop next to me, Anna slightly hidden behind him. Our small crowd grew enough to drag Pedro's attention, as he and Nico landed behind me.

"None of your business big nose" Maia snapped; she was just seconds away from snapping, and I knew how dangerous she could be. Just like Luca when he got angry. Bruno pulled her behind him and ignored her comment.

"He wanted us to give you something" he then kicked something wrapped in a black piece of fabric, making me jump back and bump into someone; the bird in question placed his/her wings in my shoulder to stop me from losing my balance, but didn't let go after that.

The Blackcap turned around and flew away, not having anything else to say. Maia gave me a cold smile, finally back to her normal self, and snapped at me "_Happy birthday, Kalli" _with that she flew out of the club in a flash of golden feathers that was characteristic of Nightingales. I watched the entrance in case they came back, but they were gone.

"You okay?" I identified the bird behind me to be Nico, and I nodded. His wings were still on my shoulders. "Who were those two?" he was looking at the entrance too. Pedro raised his brows and crossed his wings.

"Yeah, what up with that girl; she was acting like a total wacko"

"She is" Anna said, earning an uneasy look from the cardinal. I could see she was just as scared as I was, but I managed to stop shaking a little. I hadn't noticed I was shaking at all. I looked down at the ball of fabric at my feet and managed to bring myself to unwrap it with my talon. My eyes widened and Anna had to cover her beak to stop herself from screaming.

Inside the squared inch of cloth was a small plastic brush. _Our _small plastic brush, to be accurate. Nico and Pedro just looked at the object confused, but Rafael recognized it immediately.

"Nico, Pedro, stay here with them. I'll be back in a while"

"Where are you going?" I asked my voice shaking ever so slightly.

"To check your hollow. Don't worry, just stay here, okay?" I nodded and he took off, speeding out of The Branch in a second. I ran a wing through my feathers in an attempt to take in all of this.

Pedro took the brush in his wing and examined it closely "What's this?"

"It's ours" I explained "it was in our hollow, in my room" both guys finally caught what had happened and adopted worried expressions, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Kalli…" Anna was still shaking, looking off into space. I walked over to her, getting out o Nico's hold, and gently pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay. Anna listen to me, we're okay, nothing happened"

"How did they find us Kalli? _How?"_ it sounded like she was about to cry, but she managed to pull herself together just in time.

"I…I don't know" I held her close and closed my eyes, a feeling of fear and something like despair growing inside me "I don't know"

* * *

**Sooo... what do you think about Kalli's performance and all the new characters? (Sophie is my fave for some reason :D)**

**on with the reviews:**

**ILOVENICO1000X: I so glad you like this enough to put in on your faves; that makes me happiest person ever, thank u :D. I was worried I wouldn't be able to pull him off... writing Nico is hard for me, for some reason.**

**EmmerzK: I hope I made him a tad sweeter this time, let me know if I managed :). I know I told you that I was gonna use Carrie Underwood, and I did listened to some of her songs ('cause I didn't know any of them), but something just didn't seem right... still thanks a lot for the help ^-^**

**Niah09: I just have to say your reviews are awesome and they make me smile like crazy. I was reading it on my phone at the doctor's waiting room and started laughing, and everyone looked at me like I was crazy XD. the whole flirting thing was hard, but fun to write; I'm just glad you liked it. sixth senses are awesome, I wish I had one... but I don't XD. And I am SOOO gonna use that song ("Radio") for a performance later on, but Nico and Pedro will sing it.**

**ok, so now in general: what do you guy think of Maia and Bruno? and who do you think Luca is? I'd just like to know what you think will happen, that's all.**

**as always, I don't own Rio (that belongs to Blue Sky Studios) but I do own my, rather long list of OCs: Kalli, Anna, Miguel, Sophie, Maia, Bruno and Luca. (I'm still missing one LOL)**


	5. Sweeping Up The Past

**Important!: I edited a chapter, I'll explain in the end. Now, on with chap 5 :D**

* * *

I fluttered inside our hollow and immediately regretted landing where I did.

"Oww…" I jumped back and away from the glass shard I had stepped on. Looking at the ground it was a miracle I just stepped on one. Maia and Bruno had made the whole place look like if a tornado had formed in here. _Luca was probably in here too…_ that alone made me nervous, and being alone didn't help.

We spent the night with Rafael. He insisted that we were too nervous to stay alone, but I knew that he didn't want us to see the mess the other two –or probably three- had made. I woke up early to check it out myself before Anna realized I was gone; with the fact that she wasn't a morning bird most of the time and the night we had, it gave me a few hours to clean up.

And there was _a lot_ to clean up.

There were some fruits scattered about, the net where we used to keep them long gone. I found the shell where we had some water at the base of the tree, shattered. Our two little mirrors had been destroyed with one of the rocks we used as chairs, the other three nowhere to be found; only the table was still intact, just a few inches out of place. Our rooms, along with our nests, were destroyed. Even the match boxes were torn apart, some even missing; the pearl Rafael gave me the day before was also gone. All in all, the place was upside down.

I sighed and rubbed my face with my wing. I hate to admit this, but it could have been _much _worse. At least we weren't here when this happened.

I flew back to Rafael's to find my sister still sound asleep. I signaled the toucan to follow me outside, to avoid waking her up.

"How is she?"

"She's fine, hasn't even moved a feather" considering it was dawn, that was no surprise. "Did you check your hollow? Is anything missing?"

"Well…" I looked at the ground, which was a few feet below the branch were we were perched at, my shoulders slumped down "they took the pearl you gave me".

A sad and sympathetic look crossed his features, his wings at my shoulders in a second "Kalli…" I shook my head and stood a little straighter.

"No, it's ok… I'm gonna need a broom though"

"What happened to yours?"

I moved my wings like if I was breaking a twig; it was self explicatory, really. Rafael nodded and went back inside, repairing a few moments later with a small broom made of a stick and a few small, thin twigs tied with some rope; who says you can't get anything from one of those old Christmas trees the humans throw away.

I took it in my talon and balanced myself on the branch "Thanks"

"No problem" I was about to get back to my own hollow when Rafael stopped me "what do you want me to do if Anna wakes up?"

I stopped to think about it. I couldn't let her come back to the hollow in the state it was, but I couldn't ask Rafael to lie to her either. Unable to come up with anything better, I told him the only thing I could think of.

"Distract her as much as you can, I'll try to finish this quickly. If you can't keep her away from our hollow just tell her the truth, but don't let her see, it'll just get her worried"

He nodded and I left, back to my cleaning duties.

I took me about two hours just to get all the remains of glass and what used to be nests out of the way. If it was just twigs, leafs, moss or feathers –nest material, in case you didn't know- it would have been easy but I couldn't just throw glass shards out the door in every direction.

So I had to use an extra hour to find a leaf big enough, put all the glass inside and then tie it up; this took so long 'cause I had to do it three times, the first two the glass pierced through the leaves.

I let out a deep sigh and sat on the only chair we had left. _I'll have to find a new one…_ I groaned and rested my head on the table, facing away from the door. The cool surface felt amazing against my face, which was a little sweaty after all the work. I was so tired and there still so much to do.

I had to build at least one nest for us to sleep at, get a chair, a new shell or something to have some water; maybe I could get a new mirror if I looked hard enough…

Suddenly a pair of flapping wings entered my hearing range and my eyes widened; thankfully by the time my visitor landed I knew it wasn't Anna. Even if the flapping was pretty much the same, my sister flutters before landing, while this bird glided the last few inches of air. Just one glance at the shadow of a canary with something atop of his head and I knew who he was.

"Hey Nico"

"Wow… how did you know it was me?"

I pointed to the wall; still facing away from him "your shadow" I could see his head tilting to one side and I chuckled "it's hard to miss your bottle cap" he took it off and then put it back on; his shadow did show the profile of the bottle cap, even if it was in his head.

He stood there for a moment and then walked inside "Ralfy said you where here" he stepped away from the light making his shadow disappear, and I finally sat up straight to look at him. He looked around and asked without looking at me "what happened?"

"We got robbed… sort of"

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" he looked around for somewhere to sit, but taking in our lack of chairs, he just stood there next to me. For some reason it felt wrong to just leave him standing like that, so I scooted to the side and placed my elbows on the table, my chin in my flight feathers.

He gave me a look but sat down anyways, looking at me expectantly.

"They did took something, but it was pretty much just about trashing the place"

Nico crossed his wings and put them on the table, leaning forward to get a better look at me "They? You mean those birds from last night?" Ah, yeah. They were all there last night, listening as Maia called me and my sister murderers; I'm surprised he hasn't asked anything about _that_, but I'm quite grateful he hasn't. Maybe he didn't hear her. They did arrive _after _she said it…

"Yeah, it was them alright"

"You never told me who they were" his face was curious, but it also showed that I wasn't going to avoid the subject so easily. I looked at him for a while, not really knowing what to tell him. What could I tell him? After a moment of thought I decided to tell him part of the truth, but only enough for him not to ask me again.

"They're called Maia and Bruno. We met them when we were young and we used to be friends; then we had some problems, and we didn't end in the best of terms" There. I'm not lying, but I'm not giving him details; just enough for him to s-

"What could possibly happen to make them do _this_?"

…stop asking questions. That one really struck a nerve, and I couldn't stop myself before my face showed it. I looked away from him and just kept quiet. Out of the corner of my eye I could still see Nico; he looked like he wanted to take that last question back. He stood and walked out of my eyesight. _Is he leaving?..._

I then heard him walking to the entrance and then… sweeping? I furrowed my brows and turned to see the canary, broom in wing, sweeping the last pieces of… well of various materials that were on the floor.

"What are you doing" I asked surprised, not really knowing if I should furrow my brows or raise them.

"What does it look like? I'm helping you clean" he then looked over his shoulder at me and added with one of his confident grins "wouldn't want you to get your feathers dirty"

Only my smile was stronger than my blush; but only by little.

* * *

We spent the next hour and a half cleaning and talking about everything and nothing. We were finishing with my room when, somehow, our conversation turned to Nico's bottle cap. I was trying to convince him to tell me how he got it, but he refused to tell me.

"Aww, come on, at least tell me if you found it or if someone gave it to you"

Nico smiled, but kept his attention on the tiny glass shards he was sweeping; I swear those things are starting to multiply or something… they're _everywhere_. I don't think our mirrors were big enough to break into so many pieces.

"Nope"

"When you got it?" I gave him the best puppy look I had "please?"

He looked up from his work and almost rolled his eyes at me, but managed to just chuckle a little.

"Sorry bonita" he touched my chin with a single flight feather, which made me blink a few times "No can do"

I frowned and pouted playfully, but that only made us both laugh.

We stopped our work when someone landed in the hollow, but I spoke before Nico even had time to wonder who it was.

"We're in here Rafael" Nico looked at me, brows rising in surprise when the toucan entered the room.

"You _have _to teach me how to do that" he said in amazement.

"Sorry Considerável*" I took his bottle cap from him in a swift movement, putting it in my head and imitating the way he talked "No can do"

Rafael laughed as Nico tried to get his bottle cap back, while I raised it in one of my wings, the other pushing him away playfully. He grabbed my wing and spun me close to him, taking his bottle cap when it was close enough and throwing it in the air, where it spun a few times before gracefully landing in his head.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes "showoff"

Nico took his bottle cap in one wing and bowed exaggeratedly only looking up to me to wiggle his eyebrows. I gave his a look that said 'you're such a showoff' but my smile betrayed me a little.

Rafael chuckled and shook his head. He then looked around and smiled "This place is looking good"

"Thanks" Nico and I chorused, to which he winked at me. My cheeks got a pink tone and I smiled, still looking at him.

"But it couldn't take you this long. What were you two doing?" there was something weird in his voice, like if there was a double meaning in his words, but I decided it was better to let it pass.

"Well, I was trying to get Nico to tell me how he got his bottle cap" Nico tilted his bottle cap in a protective way "but I can't seem to convince him"

"Good luck with that; I don't think even Pedro knows that story."

"Really?" I turned to face Nico, but he just shrugged and closed his eyes, a half smile on his beak.

"Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't"

I slightly narrowed my eyes at him, but my smile didn't seem to fade at all.

"Well, since you two are almost done, I'll meet you back at my place" he was about to leave, when I remembered something.

"Rafael wait" he turned around to face me "how's Anna?"

He smiled a little; just enough to calm my nerves down a bit.

"She's fine. She woke up an hour ago, but she had plenty of company to keep her busy"

"Company? Who?"

"Pedro was there when she woke up, and then that dancer, Sohpie, got there fifteen minutes after. The chicks are also keeping them distracted" he chuckled a little at the last sentence.

For a moment I could only picture Pedro, Sophie and my sister buried under a pile of little toucans, but I cleared my mind enough to stay in subject.

"Sophie?"

"Yeah, she heard about what happened at The Branch and wanted to see how you two where holding up" I smiled at that. We had just met, but I had the feeling that Sophie, Anna and I would end up as good friends. At least we got something good out of all of this.

_That's not the only thing… _My eyes averted to where Nico was standing. I turned back to Rafael quickly and slapped my inner self as hard as I could –theoretically speaking, of course.

Once my doubts were cleared, Rafael left, leaving Nico and I to finish cleaning my hollow. It took us just a second to realize we were already done. I sat down at the entrance, Nico doing the same. He stretched and leaned back on his elbows.

"We've got a few hours" I turned to find him looking at me with a relaxed expression "what do you wanna do?"

"Hmm…" I thought about it for a moment before I had an idea. I leaned back just as he did and closed my eyes, barely cracking one open. He did the same and I took the chance to stretch and, without him noticing, take Nico's bottle cap right off his head.

_Hmm… I guess practice _does_ make perfect._

No time for that type of thoughts. I quickly placed the bottle cap on my head and stood up, standing on the branch right outside our hollow.

"I'm gonna go stretch my wings, want to come?"

"Yeah, just let m-" just then his eyes opened and his wing rushed to the top of his head. He looked around, probably thinking that his bottle cap fell off when he leaned back, until his eyes landed on me. He sat up, clearly surprised as to how I did that "How on _Earth…"_

I chuckled and took off, only turning back to see hi expression "If you want it back, you'll have to race me for it"

His expression changed from the initial shock to a playful and defiant smirk. He bolted up and hovered in place just long enough to say "it's on!" then we both took off, laughing like kids, to an unknown destination. Not that that bothered us in the least.

* * *

**Ok, so I said before, I changed something on chapter 1 (Prologue). I just noticed that there was a sentence that kind of mess up something I was going to write, so... yeah, if you don't want to read it again its cool, but if you can go check it out, it would be awesome.**

***Considerável: means handsome in Portuguese. thought you might want to know :)**

**So on with the reviews:**

**EmmerzK: Glad you like him (soo glad I could pull him off). ohhh, trust me, there will be tons of mysteries in this story ;D**

**JahMasterWikiwuki: Good to know there's people out there who are following this, and don't worry you can review whenever you want :). I hope you like Nico and Kalli's interaction in this one... 'cause the whole chapter goes around it XD. There is no such thing as bad reviews, and even if they were, your review wouldn't be considered that. Cool name BTW ;D**

**ILOVENICO1000X: Soon it shall be revealed... sorry if there is some momentary confusion. and thanks, glad you liked the song :D**

**Niah09: Holy cow... Not only did you figure out who Luca is, but somehow you just suggested 'Payphone' by Maroon 5; I'm using that song in a future chapter... that intuition of yours is far more powerful that you believe XD. I know, I got a little fluffy on last one (and on this one) I just can't help it :3 And you're scared 'cause they're BAD birds... specially Maia. and yes they are burglars. **

**Hope you all enjoyed this guys. What did you think of it? too much? not enough? let me know what's on your minds, all comments accepted :D**

**Again, Rio isn't mine (Blue Sky Studios owns) but these OCs are mine: Kalli, Anna, Miguel, Luca, Maia, Sophie and Bruno.**


	6. Operation: Bottle Cap

**School is taking all of my time! anyways, rambling at the end. on with chapter 6!**

* * *

It had been two days since my birthday and we were all hanging out at the beach; and I mean _all _of us. The original plan only included Anna and me but we somehow managed to run into every single bird we knew on our way there. Now we were all there, trying to make the whole 'help with the toucan chicks' experience a little less exhausting of what it usually was; some of us where having more luck than others.

I was helping two of the girls –Manuela and Sofia- build a sand castle and decorate it with shells that we found along the shore. Rafael and Sophie were swimming but, with so many heads poking in and out of the water, I wasn't sure how many chicks were with them. Nico and Pedro were playing hide-and-seek with some of the most energetic kids –Carlos included; it was quickly turning to a full chase against the canary and the cardinal, and that could only end one way. The only evidence left of Miguel even being there was a head poking out of the sand, Paco and two of his sisters burying the poor parakeet alive –he didn't seem to mind though.

And then there were Anna and Eva, who were lying on their backs on top of a rock, clearly enjoying the sun; well at least some of us get to relax…

"Retreat, retreat!" Pedro and Nico flew in different directions, concealed panic in their faces. Nico landed and hid behind us, but Carlos went straight after Pedro, followed by the rest of the chicks. I turned to find the canary sitting on the sand, bottle cap covering his whole face except for his eyes.

"They're gone, you can come back out"

"You kiddin'? I'm not taking any chances with those kids" he stood and walked closer to us, bottle cap still held protectively by his chest. Pedro had been tackled by now, only his wing visible from under the toucans that kept piling on him.

"I think Pedro could use some help" Nico seemed to get some courage as he placed his bottle cap back on and took a step forward, but he jumped back behind me the moment Carlos turned our way; luckily the little toucan didn't notice Nico and continued with his current business –poor Pedro…

"They're onto me, what do I do?" his voice was barely a whisper, but he was clearly nervous. His wings were on my shoulders, head poking a little over my shoulder.

"You could stay here and help us, right girls?" Manuela nodded without taking her focus off the sand tower she was building while Sofia gave Nico a bunch of shells. They were really calm girls, but their siblings had a weird effect on them that turned them into little hyperactive balls of feathers; I wonder what would happen if you pull them all apart for an hour…

Nico eyed the girls suspiciously, probably expecting the same behavior their brothers and sisters had shown, but relaxed a bit when they only turned to give him cute smiles and went back to the task at wing. He sat down, still a little suspicious, and started helping Sofia with the decoration of the castle.

I usually babysit these kids, so even if they leave featherless spots on me most of the time -Carlos…-, I know how to deal with them or with kids in general. But for all I know (and what Rafael had told me) Nico had no experience with children –or at least not with _his_ children. But he was handling himself fairly good, helping the girls build a tall tower on a side of the castle.

He used his bottle cap to shape the top of the tower, and while he took all the sand out of it, the girls decorated everything they could with shells and pebbles.

Just then I remembered how curious I was about Nico's bottle cap.

By now I knew that Nico wouldn't budge, but…

I heard a strangled… squawk, of some sort, coming from where Miguel's head stuck out of the sand; Pedro was still being attacked by Carlos and the other chicks, now helped by Paco and the ones that were burying Miguel before. Maybe Nico won't tell me anything, but Pedro might help. But I couldn't let Nico know I'm asking his friend about it, or he'll never tell me himself. I had to make sure he didn't notice.

I turned in time to see Nico picking up his bottle cap from the ground and put it on his head, only get a fair amount of sand poured over him. He somehow managed to close his eyes in time and reopened them to find two giggling toucan chicks; he just smiled and shook his head to get all the sand off his feathers. _He looks quite cute without his bottle cap on…_

Another squawk reminded me of my mission and also gave me a good excuse.

"I'm gonna go see if Pedro's okay"

Nico looked like he wanted to offer his help, but a glance at the chicks was enough for him to stand down. He just nodded and positioned the sand castle between Carlos and himself, probably to hide.

"I'll keep an eye on the girls…" Good excuse, I must admit.

I flew to where the cardinal was being used as a trampoline. I could listen to his screaming half way there though.

"Dude help me!"

Miguel looked down at where his body was buried and then back up at Pedro "What on earth do you want me to do?"

"Something!" Carlos ripped some of his feathers off, earning another squawk from the cardinal "ANYTHING!"

Miguel just gave him a blank stare, but winced a little at Carlos' attack. Okay, time to step in.

"Okay kids, I know you're having fun, but Pedro needs to take a break" Pedro looked at me like if I was his savior –which I technically was- and there was a collective '_Awww'_ from most of the chicks. Paco and Carlos looked at me closely, waiting for me to offer them something in exchange.

"Why don't you go play with your dad?" that did the trick. In less than a second Rafael was bombarded by all his children –minus Sofia and Manuela- leaving him and Sophie with a lot of work. _Sorry guys, I had to._

"How did you do that?" Pedro was still lying on his stomach, neck crooked to be able to look at me. Miguel's face showed a little surprise too. I shrugged and gave the both a half smile.

"They listen to me"

"Yeah, but why?" Miguel was currently trying to dig his way out of the sand, but he was clearly struggling; I guess Pedro wasn't the only one having toucan-related problems.

"I baby sit them two or three times a month" I was trying to get Pedro to stand, but he was too tired to even keep his head up straight "I practically watched some of them since they were born" I got Pedro in a sitting position and started to dig Miguel up. There was a lot of sand on top of that parakeet; how he's still able to breathe with ease, or how three little toucan chicks were able to dig a hole _that_ big were both mysteries to me.

I gave up when my wings got tired, along with my legs.

"Why did you let them do this?" Miguel just gave me a sheepish smile and blushed.

"They only buried my tail first, and I kind of… fell asleep…" Pedro gave him an are-you-serious? look, while I just gave him a blank stare "What? The sound of the waves makes me sleepy, and I didn't think they would manage to do _this_"

"I'm going for help" I made my way back to the sand castle, where Nico and the girls had done a heart in the sand and were filling the figure with small shells. He looked up at me and stood, leaving the two chicks to finish the shell heart.

"What happened?"

"I need your help digging Miguel up"

Nico gave me an unreadable look, one of his brows rising. He then looked at where the parakeet was buried up to his neck. He chuckled and adjusted his bottle cap.

"Anything you need bonita"

He flew their way, missing my blush by a feather's distance.

"Hey girls you wanna…" I turned to see that Manuela and Sofia weren't there anymore; instead they were with their mother and my sister, sitting under their rock, playing in the sand. I smiled and took a sideways glance at the heart on the sand before following Nico. I still have unattended business with a certain cardinal.

* * *

"Sorry girl, can't help you"

"What do you mean 'can't help you'?" Pedro and I were on the shore with the excuse of getting all the sand out of his feathers while Nico tried to get Miguel out of the hole.

"I have no idea how he got that bottle cap" he washed his wings, losing some feathers in the process "it's a mystery" he gave me a shrug, and my brows furrowed a little.

"He's your best friend, why wouldn't he tell you?"

He got some more sand off his tail and then walked out of the water, taking a quick glance in Nico's direction. He looked like he was in deep thought, so I remained quiet.

"Look, I'll tell you what I know okay? But you gotta promise not to tell on me"

_He's probably just trusting me 'cause I'm Anna's sister._ I shook my head a little. That can't be it. I placed one wing on my heart and the other in the air for him to see "I swear"

He narrowed his eyes, still in deep thought, before extending his talon at me "talon swear?"

_You've got to be kiddin' me…_ this was something young chicks did to seal promises; pretty much the equivalent of what humans call a pinky swear. I extended my talon and we intertwined our back claws "talon swear"

"I don't know much" he looked over at his friend while he talked and I followed his gaze without noticing "just that he got it when he was a kid and that he'll do anything to keep that thing safe. It got lost once, for like, two hours, and Nico freaked out beyond belief. I thought we'd lost him"

My look on the canary softened considerably. Pedro knew what everyone else knew, and that wasn't much. But that just told me that, whatever story's behind that bottle cap, it must be hard for him to talk about it; no matter if the story is terribly shocking, or just a touchy subject, there's something that's keeping him from telling other birds about it, his best friend included. That's not a trust issue, it's a personal matter.

And I know what that feels like.

"Come on, he'll never get Miguel out on his own"

"Kalli…"

"Don't worry, I won't tell him anything" I gave him a reassuring smile. It's not like Pedro told me much, but we _were_ talking about his best friend, almost his brother. But the look I got from Pedro was different of what I expected. It looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. I think it's better not to ask.

Miguel was now able to use his right wing, the left one not completely free yet, and was helping Nico by moving sand away. Nico was using his bottle cap as a shovel, getting sand out of the way twice as fast as he was by only using his wings.

"Good idea"

"Obrigado" he sent a grin my way, and I gave him a smile. I really tried not to stare at his bottle cap as he placed it back on, and somehow I managed. Miguel finally freed his other wing and with all the strength he had, pulled himself out of the hole.

"Finally, freedom!" he immediately took off into the air and fell right back down just a few feet away. He had been buried for at least an hour and his wings weren't strong enough yet. Sophie, who had just come out of the water, helped her brother up.

"What happened to you?"

"Long story"

* * *

"I'm so tired" Anna landed on the branch at the entrance of our hollow and stretched her wings. I landed next to her and gave her a blank stare.

"Yeah, 'cause you did _so_ much today" she smiled a little and walked inside, mumbling something about sleeping for days. I shook my head and started following Anna inside but something caught my eye; there was a small light coming from a bush near our tree. I looked at it and noticed that it wasn't a light; it was something reflecting the light, but different of how a mirror would.

"Go ahead, I'll be there in a second" she mumbled her reply and went straight into her room. Just now it occurred to me how early she got up today; and yesterday too, if I think about it, that's probably why she's so tired.

I fluttered down of our tree and landed near the bush. There it was, something between the leafs. I pushed them aside and froze, my blood running cold.

That thing reflecting the light was a small, perfectly round pearl. Just like the one Rafael gave me and Maia and Bruno stole.

"Thought you might want it back"

Everything froze around me; the noises of the jungle, the clouds moving in the sky and even the wind. I didn't have to turn –I couldn't even if I tried- to know who it was; His voice was enough. To be honest, I should have known since Maia and Bruno walked in The Branch that he would show up at some point. But I wished I was wrong.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned slowly, my eyes focused strictly on the ground.

"Luca"

* * *

***Dramatic music* What do you guys think? What do you think Luca will do? next chapter will give some hints of Kalli's past btw.**

**review time!:**

**Niah09: a suspenseful romantic story... I guess it does fit that description :). How cool would it be to recognize everyone by their shadows! It'd be awesome! I'm sooo happy you liked the chapter, the quoting and that Kalli and you could hang out any day ;D I don't think I'm that good at writing, but thanks :D**

**ILOVENICO1000X: Awww, thanks, I'm glad you like them :) You think so? I'm soo happy, 'cause Nico has me all worried, like 'he's gonna be OOC...' XD**

**EmmerzK: Thanks, glad you like :) And, as you can see, the bottle cap story will stay until we find out how Nico got it. All mysteries will be revealed in the end...**

**Also thank to AwesomeCrazyImp for adding this to his/her (not really sure) favorite stories :)**

**Can you guys guess why I named the toucan chicks like that? box of cookies to the one who can guess. and a cookie to the ones who try :D**

**As always, I do not own Rio (Thats Blue Sky Studios) but I do own: Kalli, Anna, Miguel, Sophie, Maia, Bruno and Luca.**


	7. Atropa Belladonna

**I blame this long chapter on too many horror films, on the news I watch and on my... disturbed mind. This is a side of me that I love, but most people find scary... what do you think?**

**PD. Rating changed because of this chapter. **

* * *

"Hello Kalli. Long time no see" He acted just like we were old friends, his voice almost happy, but I knew how fast his mood could change. I kept my eyes on the ground, refusing to look up, because once I did he would be too real for me to handle. He noticed this and lowered his head so that I could see him, his black feathered face coming into view "Hello? I'm up here you know" He smiled and laughed a little.

I looked away but straightened myself a bit; better to do what he says while he's still calm. Unlike Maia, who only fakes her sympathy, Luca can act as innocent as a small chick. Worst part is that he doesn't even fake it, he actually becomes passive and friendly and then cold and harsh; that's how bad his mood swings are.

"Look at you. Last time I saw you was almost ten years ago" He chuckled and then stared at me, an edge in his look that made feel like a mouse about to be captured by a cat "I've been looking for you"

He started to walk around me, inspecting me from beak to feet. Only my eyes followed him, my body paralyzed. Luca was a Stonechat, his body covered in white, black and reddish feathers. His face, wings, back and tail where a smooth black, while his chest and upper stomach were a red tone. Only his shoulders and lower stomach were white, along with a long line across his wings. He was tall for a Stonechat, almost an inch taller than me.

"We have unattended business, you know. But I'd rather work things out with you and not with Anna", he approached me even more, an intense look on his face, innocence long gone. Then without hesitation he kicked my left leg, making me lose my balance and fall on my back. His talon was pressing on my throat seconds later.

"Her heart would stop the moment she saw me, don't you think?" he looked up at my hollow, a smug grin taking over his expression "No fun in that"

"Shut u-up" He glanced my way, almost like he forgot about me. He bent down, his face only millimeters away from mine.

"I would take my own advice if I were you" he tapped my throat with his middle claw, which was longer than the other two, "wouldn't want to get my claws bloody by ripping off your vocal chords. Not tonight at least" he pulled me up with his talon and threw me like I weighted nothing. I crashed into a tree, or what I assumed was a tree until a pair of wings held me in place.

Didn't need a lot to know it was Bruno. Maia materialized next to Luca, a crazed smile plastered on her face.

"Come on Luca, let's just kill them now that we have them" she sounded like a five-year old asking to go to the beach. Luca smiled at her and wrapped a wing around her shoulders, kissing her cheek. They were a perfect match alright, made for each other.

"No babe, let's not rush into things" he pulled her close "I thought you said you wanted to have some fun yourself" she nodded. I gulped, not really sure what should scare me more; the fact that Maia wanted to torture me too, or that they discussed this beforehand. I started shaking so bad, that if Bruno hadn't been holding me, my legs would have given in and let me fall.

"She's right you know" He turned to me, the coldest look he could master on his eyes, but his voice as neutral as ever "I should just rip your wings off and fly up there to gouge out Anna's eyes. That's what you deserve after what you did to Isabel" Luca took a few steps until he was standing two inches away from me, Maia standing right behind him.

By now I was beyond terrified, not really knowing what to expect. Luca could do anything when it came to Isabel; after the poor girl died he lost whatever sanity was left on him, his little sister being the only reason to stay sane in the first place. His only way to cope with the pain was to blame someone, and Anna and I fitted the profile, being at the wrong place and with no time to explain.

Damn Maia and her freaking lies. Damn Luca that believed everything the Nightingale told him without asking questions. Damn Bruno who knew the whole truth, but didn't move a feather to defend us.

I got as away from him as possible, my back pressed against Bruno's chest; he didn't make a move to push me away, which I silently thanked. Bruno never did anything Luca didn't order. If the Stonechat orders it, Bruno would snap my neck right there and then, but until he was told otherwise, he wouldn't do anything.

"But I've decided to be a good host and give you some time to waste" Maia took something from behind a rock and handed it to Luca. It was a plastic bottle cap filled with a dark blue liquid "a week to be exact".

"A-a week… what's that supp-" Bruno hit my throat with his wing, making me choke back all my words. Both Maia and Luca seemed pleased by that.

"Yup, after that, I'll come back. See, I'm not that bad" His expression changed drastically, a sweet smile in his beak and an honest look in his eyes "but in that time, I have to make sure you don't tell Anna, or any other bird, of our little meeting" he cocked his head quickly and Bruno choked me from behind with one wing making me gag, while his other wing pushed a pressure point on my jaw, forcefully opening my mouth.

I used my now freed wings to fight Bruno, not really interested in knowing what they were trying to do, but the Blackcap just held me tighter, choking me even more.

"Stop squirming, I'm doing you a favor" Luca tilted the bottle cap, getting all its contents inside my mouth. I didn't swallow it at first, but another push on my throat made me inhale, and therefore, swallow everything; it wasn't much though. Whatever they gave me had a sweet flavor, not like I imagined it would. I coughed a little.

"How is this a favor?"

"I know for a fact that you hate lying to Anna, but I also know that you will in order to protect her" I hate the fact that he knows me that well, "but I don't think you'll be able to lie to everyone; at least not to that toucan that took you in after you left, or that canary you seem so fond of lately" I tried to gasp, but ended up having another coughing fit.

He knows who Rafael and Nico are? Since when has he been watching us?

"But with this you won't have to lie" I gave him a panicked look, my mind in overdrive. _What did he just make me drink?_ Just as if reading my mind he started explaining.

"_Atropa Belladonna, _or most commonly named Deathly Nightshade. One the most toxic plants in all of the Western Hemisphere, it's said that two berries from this plant can kill a human child, and that a single leaf can kill an adult" My eyes widened as I touched my beak with a single flight feather. He said he would give me a week, and now he tells me I've just been poisoned?

"Don't worry though, it wasn't enough to kill you, just to cause some of the side effects; like headaches, blurred vision, slurred speech, delirium, convulsions, you know things like that. We just added some water for it to get absorbed slower and act a little longer". He gave me a huge grin, and I started shaking. But I wasn't shaking out of fear, it was something else; I even started to feel a little drowsy. "Well that was fast. I guess we didn't add enough water…" He shrugged and Maia giggled. I felt like I was about to cry, my heart pounding for multiple reasons.

"Look at the bright side, this is for the best". Luca placed his wing in my shoulder and gave me the kind of smile you give a young chick while you explain him something "this way you don't have to lie to anyone, but they won't believe you. You can tell them all the truth, but they'll cross it out as another hallucination. It's a win-win situation".

He gave Bruno a nod and turned around, walking away. Bruno let me go and I fell, my legs unable to carry my weight. Maia just looked at me, mocking me silently. I started to get tunnel vision, and my wings started to go numb along with my legs.

"See you in a week Kalli" Luca waved without turning and took off, Bruno right behind him. Maia spotted my pearl that was still lying on the ground, and kicked it my way as hard as she could; it hit me right in the stomach, knocking the air right out of me.

"Sweet nightmares, Kalli" she took off after the others, a blur of golden feathers the last thing I saw before loosing consciousness.

* * *

I woke up in my nest, back on my hollow. There wasn't a lot of light, but the few beams that entered my room seemed far too bright; it was like staring straight into the sun. I squinted in order to protect my eyes and looked around. Something was wrong…

"Anna?" there was a small sound, like a strangled cry, coming from outside my room. I got out of the nest and walked towards the cry, avoiding the sun beams at all costs.

The light in the other room was a gray color, like it had started raining outside; actually I could listen to the rain, however, when I turned I couldn't see it. I stood at the entrance and extended my wing, expecting to feel the water, but felt something more like small, thin thorns digging into my skin. I retracted my wing immediately.

There was another cry, this one clearer than the last, behind me. I turned but there was no one there; I was alone. The cry turned to a quite sobbing, but escalated quickly into bone chilling cries. I walked all over the room, then the hollow, but founded no one. My heart pounded so hard, I could feel some ribs breaking; I heard them too.

I clutched my chest and stumbled though the room trying to find something to hold on for balance, but everything seemed to move right when my wing touched it. Suddenly I tripped with something hard, but apparently invisible, and fell forward. The moment I hit the floor, the cries stopped, along with the rain.

I turned to see that I had tripped with someone; someone I knew.

"Anna?" She was on the floor, shaking, with her face hidden in her wings. She seemed to have trouble breathing, but I couldn't hear her, or anything else. I crawled towards her.

"Anna? Anna, what's wrong?" I even had trouble listening to my own voice.

Anna started shaking violently, rocking herself back and forth. I placed a wing on her shoulder and she stopped moving abruptly. Her wings fell, revealing her face. There was some blood on her cheeks, and a huge gash on her forehead, but that didn't call my attention; what did call it was the way her eyelids seemed to have lost form somehow…

She opened her eyes, and I was met with two empty, bleeding sockets; her eyes were gone. Even without them I knew she was focusing on me, and she gave me a smile that went from ear to ear; it was a truly disturbing sight, and the fact that the world was on mute didn't help.

I jumped back, screaming at the top of my lungs, not caring about the pain the broken ribs caused. The room started to get some sound back, but it was the sound you get when you put a microphone to close to a speaker; the sound got louder along with my screams. Someone grabbed my shoulders from behind and whispered in my ear.

"She got what she deserved" The voice was a combination of Luca, Maia and Bruno, like they all said it at once "Now it's your turn" the flight feathers of the wings holding me turned into thorns and glass shards, digging into my skin and pulling my wings right out of their sockets. The world turned completely black and mute, but the pain was still there for a few seconds.

* * *

I bolted up, breathing heavily, and founded myself in my nest once more. My face was hot and sweaty, just like the rest of my body. I either had a fever, or the nightmare I just had was worse than I remembered.

Wait, the nightmare…

I jumped out of the nest, running straight into the midsection of our hollow, looking for Anna like my life depended on it. _It was just a bad dream…_ I knew it was, but I had to make sure. There was something about that dream that seemed so… real.

"Anna?" she was nowhere to be found and I started to panic. I ended back on my room, finally taking in my surroundings. There, lying on the floor next to my nest was a canary; but it wasn't Anna.

"Nico?" I kneeled next to him and shook him a little. A muffled groan came from behind the bottle cap that covered his face. He pushed it away a looked at me with sleepy eyes.

"Kalli…?" he rubbed his eyes and suppressed a yawn. Had he been… sleeping? On the floor? _Next to my nest?_ Suddenly his eyes went wide and he bolted upright, making me jump back a little "Kalli!"

He stood and pulled me up with him, his wings on mine while he looked at me from beak to feet "You're awake! Since when? Why didn't you wake me up?" I really didn't know what to tell him, my panic attack from earlier suddenly taking over.

"Nico…" he stopped his rambling and looked at my face, taking my sad and uneasy expression "where's Anna?" I was fighting back tears by now; that nightmare really had a toll on me. Nico seemed to remember something and pulled me into a light hug, my wings limp by my sides. I was too tired all of a sudden.

"She's with Ralfy. She'll be back soon" I started shaking a little, my emotions a little over the edge. _Pull it together Kalli…_ "She's alright, and so are you" I closed my eyes, holding back my tears. Why am I so emotional? It was just a nightmare, nothing else.

"Shhh, it's okay. You'll be okay, just relax" his voice seemed to change a little as he squeezed me harder against his chest "You're safe with me" his voice distorted completely, but I had no time to even furrow my brows as pain shot through my back.

I opened my eyes to find myself paralyzed and pinned to the spot; I couldn't even move my beak to scream at the sight ahead. Nico had changed to an unrecognizable form, but I could still tell it was him.

His feathers had turned black and gray, making his look taller somehow. His left wing looked broken, and so did one of his legs. He almost looked like a shadow, but his wings where still around me, hurting my back a little. Even his bottle cap was gone, a puff of black feathers at the top of his head.

I tried to scream but nothing came out, my paralysis still present.

Nico opened his eyes, which were completely yellow, and inched closer to me. His broken leg made a horrifying noise when he leaned on it, but he ignored it completely "Shhh, don't cry" he caressed my cheek with his damaged wing and gave me a bone chilling grin; he now had teeth in his beak. Long lines of metal fangs formed a Cheshire cat type of grin that made my eyes widen, the paralysis staring to subside.

"I'll protect you" I finally had enough control of my body to push Nico away, his broken leg giving in, making his fall backwards. I was so weak that I fell backwards myself, my head crashing into the wall.

Apparently it was a strong hit, 'casue I lost consciousness right after that.

* * *

When I woke up again, the first thing I felt was a weight on top of me. The second was that the temperature was really high, making it even harder to breathe. The third was the pain in my leg.

There was something pinning me to the ground. Whatever it was, it was heavy and in the right position to place far more pressure on my leg, which was badly injured and probably broken. What was left of my hollow collapsed around me, fire and smoke everywhere. The flames jumped from one place to other, almost like they had a mind of their own.

My pyrophobia kicked in immediately, my heart racing faster than ever; I squirmed, but the weight on top of me was far to great.

The flames seemed to notice me and advanced in my direction, going over wood and debris, somehow leaving everything intact. It surrounded me faster than I expected, moving forward and then retracting as if mocking the way I jumped when it came to close.

I covered my face with my wings and sobbed, just wanting this to end.

"Go away, go away, go away" The fire almost seemed to laugh at me, finally getting close enough to burn a few millimeters of my stomach "GO AWAY!"

The laughter stopped, leaving the whole place in silence. I peeked through my feathers to find the whole place burned down, the ashes and the smoke making visibility almost impossible. The weight that used to trap me was gone, but my leg was still broken. I managed to stand using one wing for support and the other to cover my stomach.

I looked around, expecting to find some flames left, but they had all extinguished somehow, taking all the colors with them. I was left alone in a colorless world.

"Kalli? Where are you?" Pedro's voice echoed through the empty space, but it didn't have a point of origin; it was like it came out of thin air.

"Kalli?" Nico's voice joined Pedro's, but neither of them had a point of origin. They just came out of nowhere.

"Kalli, sweety, where are you?" a third voice joined, this one clearly coming from my right. It was a female voice with a familiar tone to it; too familiar for me not to recognize it.

"Mom?" it was more a murmur to myself, but apparently she heard me.

"Kalli, come here baby"

I limped towards my mother's voice, Nico and Pedro's became more distant with every step, even if they didn't have a specific direction. I rounded a corner and saw my parents through a cloud of ashes. My mother smiled at me and extended her wings for a hug.

"There you are"

I beamed at them and took a step forward with my injured leg, the pain getting some sense into me. My eyes wanted to go wide, but my furrowed brows wouldn't let them. My parents were right there, just behind that cloud of smoke, waiting for me. _But that's impossible… they died when I was four…_

My eyes finally widened. _On a fire…_

"Baby what's wrong?" my mother took a step forward and I quickly used my wings to dissipate the cloud of smoke. My parents' images became clear. Nothing in this planet could have kept me from screaming the way I did.

The birds in front of me were badly burned, some other injuries standing out as well.

The female canary had no feathers left on her wings, bone showing on both. Her face was deformed and part of her beak was missing. Her skull could be seen at the top of her head. There was a cut on her hip that showed part of her pelvic bone.

The male was burned from his stomach to his neck, the third degree burn exposing muscles and almost every rib on his right side, along with part of his jaw bone. His tail was gone, only a tuff of burned feathers left on its place. His leg and his skull both were fractured, bone poking out from the skin. One of his eyes was bleeding badly, dripping blood onto the ground.

In this world of black and white, their injuries were the only thing with color, making them look far more terrifying of what they really were. Lie, they would have been just as scary anyways.

Even worse: there were no doubt these two canaries were my parents once.

My mother looked at me with a worried expression and reached out, but I just backed away from her, still screaming to the top of my lungs. At some point I fell to the ground, but still backed away using my wings and my functional leg.

"Honey what is it?"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" I jumped back and landed on a pile of debris, unable to back away any further. My mother gave me a hurt look. _No, that's not my mother!_ "YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER! MY MOTHER DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THAT!" my panic was raising to a level that I thought wasn't even possible. I felt like my heart would stop any second, and I would actually die of fright.

"Kalli, what are you talking about?" she used her motherly voice that used to calm me down when I was a small chick, but in this broken and burned bird it sounded horrifying "we look exactly the same"

I stopped screaming, moving and even breathing. The color in their wounds turned a brighter tone, crimson red standing out even more. I looked at myself, but saw no wounds. Then I turned to the pile of burnt down material and identified my little piece of mirror, black from all the ash.

I wiped off the ash of its' surface, and looked at my reflection. What stared back at me was a canary with a half burned face and a bleeding gash on her cheek. All the skin on the right side of her head was gone, showing white bone. Her collar bones were also visible, one of them clearly broken. My eyes widened and so did hers'.

My mother hugged me from behind and looked at both out reflections with a warm smile.

"See? Exactly the same"

I let go of the mirror and covered my beak, tears spilling from my eyes. I pushed my mother away and took a few steps back, shock too big to even remember my broken leg.

I could hear Nico's voice again, calling for me, still coming from an unknown direction.

"_No…_" I covered my face and felt the bone that showed on my face. My body was filled with third degree burns and cuts, pain and blood coming out of every single wound.

"No" I sobbed, not really paying attention at how close Nico's voice was right now. Someone grabbed my shoulders but I pulled back, thinking it was my mother again, but not bothering to take a look to make sure.

"Kalli-"

"No, no, no"

"Kalli!" The bird grabbed my shoulders and I shook my head, my eyes still clamped shut.

"No, please, no. Just go away, please!" I sobbed even harder, still shaking my head. The wings moved from my shoulder to my forewings and shook me a little.

"Kalli, please, it's me Nico. Kalli!"

* * *

"Kalli, please, it's me Nico. Kalli!" My eyes shot open and my breathing stopped for a second. I took my wings from my face to meet worried brown eyes looking at me; there was some fear in them as well, but probably not as much as in mine.

I was back in my hollow, in my room, standing next to my nest, Nico's wings still holding me. Some of the things in my room seemed out of place, some even destroyed, but I didn't care.

"N-nico?" my voice was pitchy from all the crying. He nodded a little, but that was all it took for me to throw my wings around his neck and start crying again, letting all my emotions and fears flow.

"You're f-feathers… and th-then you… you… and Anna, had her e-eyes… th-they… they were b-burned so badly… I-I…" Nothing of what I said made any sense, everything falling on me at once far too fast for me to fully understand everything. Nico just rubbed circles in my back. I tightened my grip around him, too scared that he might disappear if I let him go.

"It's okay, it was just a bad dream. It wasn't real"

"I-it wasn't?" I choked out between sobs. I was having a hard time breathing, but I couldn't stop crying. Nico held me closer to him.

"No, none of it. But your awake now" he got some stray feathers out of my face and kissed my forehead "This is real, _I'm_ real. It's okay now, I promise. Stop crying" He gave me a smile and I managed to subside my cries "I like you better when you smile" I cracked a smile, but it only lasted a second.

I nodded and rested my head on his chest, exhaustion hitting me hard. I started to go limp, but he held me firmly, and I fell asleep standing up in Nico's wings.

At least I know this is real.

* * *

**First, let me say that I had to rewrite this like five or six times. It took me a while, and after changing and taking off several pages, I ended up with this. I hope you guys like it, 'cause I had problems with the whole thing.**

**I am not proud to say that part of the first hallucination is based on something that happened last thursday, and I just couldn't get it out of my mind. I don't want to write it here, but if you want to know just tell me and I'll answer as soon as possible (if you don't have accounts, just give me another way to tell you, don't worry). Don't worry, nothing happened to me or to anyone I know, but, it still happened where I live (same country anyways)**

**Anyways, my little depression aside, it's time to answer some reviews:**

**ILOVENICO1000X: Unless you die in the next couple of weeks, then you'll know the bottle cap story. Just hold on for a few more chapters. Flirty and charming... I can do that... Or I'll give it a try, at least (flirty isn't my thing). I'll make sure to pay attention to the moments they have in future chapters (this wasn't the chapter for that), thanks for the suggestion :D**

**EmmerzK: I'll try to make the bottle cap story as interesting as I can (I have some ideas), you'll just have to wait a little longer. I love Rafael's kids, they're so much fun, but only if you watch from a safe distance XD**

**Niah09: Yes! well done, here's your box of cookies *hands you a big box* ;D. Well, this will sound dumb, but did you try with the 'forgot my password' button? It happened to me once, and when I got the email, it turned out someone had hacked into my account and changed my password (thankfully that was all they did), don't know, maybe it happened to you too. I felt a little bad for Pedro too, but it was soooo funny to write that part XD. Hint well taken I must say ;) I'm not very good with romance, but I try. Well, no he's not her cousin, as you can see, but they used to be friends. Another great song that I shall use :D thanks! And hope you can solve your account-related problem soon :)**

**And thanks to you, Bunblebee1013, for adding this to your faves :)**

**SOOOOOOO, what did you guys think? too much? too confusing? what parts of the hallucinations were real? what do you think of Luca? and of Isabel?**

**Rio belongs to Blue Sky Studios, and these belong to me: Miguel, Sophie, Kalli, Anna, Bruno, Maia, Luca, Isabel, and Kalli's parents (Holy cow, those are a lot of OCs)**


	8. Cheering Up A Little

**Sorry it took this long, I've been having a lot going on and no time to write.**

**Since last chapter was a little... creepy, I'll make up for it on this one :) enjoy**

* * *

The next twenty-four hours were a nightmare of their own, but thanks to a few beams of light, I it pulled through.

I fought most of the side effects of the poison, but nothing compared to the hallucinations. Everything attacked me: from sensitivity to light and staggering, to slurred speech and confusion; I spent the worst thirty minutes of my life calling everyone by names that weren't theirs. Thankfully no one laughed at me –at least, not in a mean way- and Nico had enough patience to explain what name belonged to each bird; he had to explain it to me like five times though.

That was one of my many light beams.

After I woke up, Nico barely left the hollow, always nearby in case we needed him or even in my room keeping me company. He only left when there was someone else to take care of me, but he would still stay there a lot. Sophie had visited more times that I could count, and Miguel came by a few times with his sister. Anna had been in the hollow the entire time, either in my room or in her's, resting a little. Rafael had been there earlier with some of the chicks, who were amazingly well behaved; I thought I was having another hallucination. Pedro popped out every now and then, to cheer Nico and me up.

Apparently no one wanted to leave me alone.

I gave them quite a scare.

I found out the whole story later on, when everyone had left, leaving only me and Anna. She wasn't sure about telling me everything but I managed to persuade her by telling her that I wasn't sure what had been real and what hadn't; that wasn't a complete lie.

After we had arrived from the beach, Anna went straight into her room and fell asleep, assuming I was right behind her.

At the time I was with Luca, but she doesn't know that. I don't think telling her will be useful, it's not like it will make a difference other than terrifying Anna. Instead of telling them the truth, I decided to tell them that I didn't remember much after getting home, just that I was starving and went to get something. They reached the conclusion that I got confused with something I ate, saving me the trouble to lie any further.

Just as Luca said, I hate lying to these birds, but I'll do it to protect them. Even if it means proving Luca right.

After that Rafael had sent Nico and Pedro to check on us and make sure the chicks hadn't beat us up as much as they beat the others. They came inside our hollow but when no one answered them they assumed we were asleep. When they were on their way out, Nico spotted me on the ground and while he made sure I was okay –or at least alive- Pedro woke my sister up. In about half an hour, a multitude of birds were on our hollow, all of them trying to figure out what had happened to me.

Rafael, being Rafael, knew a parrot that lived in a veterinary and had some knowledge in that general subject. He left for a few hours to go meet the other bird at the city, while everyone else stayed with my sister and me.

The whole night went by with no sight of the toucan, and it was no surprise that I had started hallucinating in the mean time; Thankfully Miguel and Sophie had already left, too beat up and tired form the day at the beach, and didn't see me like that. Well, actually the only one that saw me was Anna, since Pedro and Nico stayed perched on the branch that's next to the entrance waiting for Rafael to come back with news, limited to what they could hear.

Poor Anna had to stay with me in my nest, since I kept crying and screaming her name. By then they had figured out that I was hallucinating, since I was conscious enough to try to get out of our hollow twice and push away the ones that tried to stop me, but not enough to realize that the bird next to me was the one I was looking for so desperately.

Next morning Rafael came by, but with no news. He had left to early and in panic, with no details or information of my condition, and came back with what he left; nothing.

At that point the only one that could help him was my sister, since she spent the night taking care of me, but it took everything from both Rafael and Pedro to convince my sister to leave the hollow and go to the city. All with the two conditions that Nico stayed with me all the time and that Pedro went with her and Rafael. Anna and her ever-present crush on the cardinal never seize to surprise me.

It took a couple of hours for the three to come back, only to find an anxious Nico walking around the entrance fiddling with his bottle cap.

For what he told my sister, He had fallen asleep and hour after they left for town; considering the guy hadn't sleep in almost an entire day, it was no surprise. He woke up to find me conscious and walking around the hollow asking about Anna. Everything was fine until I had another attack and pushed Nico away hard enough to hit my head against the wall, and send the other canary half way across the room.

I remember that… so Nico sleeping on the floor next to my nest _was_ real…

I stayed unconscious for almost a day after that, fever, coughing fits and a few nightmares that I don't remember being the only relevant events. One would think that would be a relief, but it was exactly what got Anna over the edge. I wasn't waking up and the only thing they could deduce by being with that parrot was that I had been poisoned, the cause still unknown.

I must admit I felt guilty when Anna told me all of this. I can't believe I got her this worried…

Anna went to look for Rafael, thinking that they could figure something else out if they went back to the city, leaving Nico alone with me for the second time. I woke up ten minutes after she left in the middle of a hallucination, but luckily Nico was there to talk me back into reality, something that had taken almost two days to accomplish.

And now here we are, three days after that, with me still lying on my nest by Anna's orders. My eyes were closed while Anna finished telling me everything that had happened, but there was a thought that kept distracting me.

It had been three days, which left me with only four of the original seven Luca said he would give me. What will happen after the week concludes? Will he come for me, or will he take Anna too? What if he hurts someone else like Rafael or Nico? Will he even keep his promise, or will he show up before time?

_Well there's not much you can do now, is there?_ Dumb inner me. Can't she stop talking for five minutes? But she was right, whatever Luca had in mind he would do it, no matter what I did. A small sniff made my eyes crack open a little. Anna was sitting in the edge of my nest looking off into space. I hadn't even noticed she had stopped talking.

"Anna?" My voice still sounded hoarse, but it was barely noticeable "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Well that was a little blunt. If one word can explain how she looked it would be defeated. This past three days had got her to the edge, and I understand why; I would look just like that or even worse if our roles were switched.

"Aww, c'mon, what is it? My fringe's not messy is it?" I looked up at my bangs squinting dumbly as my sister chuckled loudly, rolling her eyes.

"_No,_ your fringe is fine, I brushed it an hour ago" she got that distant expression again "It's not that"

I got myself in a sitting position, the sprained muscles in my back screaming at me to lie down, but I promptly ignored them "Then what is it?" Anna gave me a sideways glance and sighed, getting her legs and the rest of her body inside the nest so we could be closer to each other.

"It's just that… I've felt so useless, I mean if Nico wouldn't have found you… I should have known you weren't behind me th-"

"It's not your fault Anna" I cut her off before she could say anything else. I just couldn't stand to listen to that, not to Anna blaming herself "None of it is your fault"

"It's just that…" She looked at me dead in the eye, but her eyes showed so many emotions that I couldn't make anything out of it. "Kalli, you're all I have. And don't you dare saying I have Rafael because you know what I mean"

Something inside of me snapped, almost like a jammed door had finally opened after much struggle. If something happens to either of us, the other will have to suffer through it too. Being orphans we are the only family we have; Rafael became part of our family when he took us in, but it's not the same. I pulled Anna into a hug, not being able to care less about my sprained back even if I tried.

"Stop it. This was not your fault, you hear me? and I'm not going anywhere" We hugged for a while, just enjoying the silence, until Anna pulled back and started to fan her face with her wings, her eyes a little glassy.

"Ugh, I don't want my eyes to get all red and puffy. I look awful when that happens" And she's back. I started laughing along with her, when I heard someone landing at the entrance. I managed to get my laughter under control and got Anna got out of the nest.

"We're in here!"

A pair of heads poked from the other room, and with wide grins Nico and Pedro made their usual entrance. Pedro went straight towards Anna, who had stopped giggling, and gave her a friendly hug. They smiled at each other from behind their blushes.

I'm startin' to think I should say something along the lines of _'Pedro, Anna likes you. Anna, Pedro likes you. Yes, we did notice. Now you can date' _but I don't think Anna would be very happy about it. She hasn't even told me herself about her crush.

Nico was looking at them with the same expression I had, probably thinking something similar. Maybe we can come up with something for our love birds if we put some effort into it. He walked my way, giving the other two one last look, and started to help me out of the nest.

"How are we feeling?"

"Better… I guess" my back stretched a little too much when I got out, earning the smallest hiss of pain from me. His hold on my wing tightened ever so slightly at this.

"Well you definitely look better" He tilted his bottle cap a fraction of a centimeter, giving me one of his smiles "gorgeous I might say" I could feel the heat reaching my cheeks and turning them red. Thankfully Pedro intervened before I could stutter an improvised response for Nico.

"Yeah girl, you look good as new" a grateful smile was dedicated to the two of them before Pedro continued "and that calls for a celebration" all the other birds in the room, Anna included, gave me huge smiles as if they knew something I didn't.

"A celebration?"

"You deserve it" Nico made his way towards Pedro and Anna, gently pulling me with him "You've been in here long enough"

"I don't think I can fly for too long"

"We've got you covered" Pedro waved his wing as if it wasn't important "besides, Nico's right. You've been locked here far too long. Come on It'll cheer you up!"

I looked at my sister, her smile growing a bit "Did you have anything to do with this?"

"Nope. This was all Pedro and Nico".

"Mostly Nico" Pedro added quickly, making Nico's and my own eyes meet faster than lighting. I smiled at the thought of him doing something for me, remembering the night I met him. Though, if I think about it, this is better.

"Well, based on the last celebration, I can expect this to be just as good" I said in a mocking demanding voice. Nico just grinned.

"It'll be even better. Our best performance ever, you'll see" Pedro seemed inspired, excitement emanating from his whole body. Nico wasn't as bouncy as his friend, but there was excitement in his eyes; these guys live to do this, performers from feet to beak. It's a surprise they don't go around life singing and dancing 24/7.

"Only the best for you" I grinned back at the canary, my blush hidden under my feathers.

"But the best needs us to get there early. We have to run" They stood at the entrance ready to leave, but not without saying their goodbyes. Nico turned to me while Anna got distracted with Pedro.

"See you later bonita" With one last tilt of his bottle cap they both left, leaving me to wonder what they meant by 'got you covered'.

Turns out 'got you covered' stands for 'you'll be carried by Rafael all the way to The Branch'. And let me tell you, traveling in someone else's back is _not_ as fun as it sounds. I had the sensation of falling off the whole trip, even if Rafael was flying slowly and quite smoothly. I closed my eyes half way there, and kept them like that until I felt him land.

I don't even want to think that I'll have to do this again to get back home.

I made my way down, my wings tired from holding on so tightly; I don't know how I didn't rip out some of his feathers. Anna took in my expression and placed her wing in my shoulder.

"Maybe we should have waited a little longer for this…"

"No, no I'm fine" I straightened myself as much as my back would allow, which was more than this morning. Dusk had its signature all over the sky, full darkness just a few hours away. The Branch was already busting with birds, loud music coming from inside. We walked inside and immediately caught sight of Pedro in the stage. He was giving some exaggerated signals to Nico, who was trying to move a metal can from one side of the stage to the other and get it on the right place.

Something about the tasks they had seemed unfair, but they must have their reasons.

We got there and Pedro immediately greeted us. Nico tried to wave, but snapped his wing back down when the can started to fall, too heavy for him to just hold it with one wing.

"Do you need help with that?" Nico shook his head and stretched his neck to talk properly.

"I've got it. Don't worry your pretty mind about it" He gave me a wink, but his face changed far too fast for me to even react. The can tilted a little too much to the right, dragging Nico down in his attempt to get it balanced in his wings. At first it looked like the can had crushed the canary, but then it rolled away revealing Nico lying on his stomach, bottle cap covering his face.

"You okay man?" Nico moved his bottle cap away and huffed, getting up with Pedro's help. He dusted himself and looked at the can that kept rolling away.

"Yeah" He glanced my way and seemed to get nervous "see, it rolled right on the spot. Saved me the trip" He hurried to where the can was and positioned it so that it would be part of a drum set. Looks like the band is moving from one side of the stage to the other.

I gave Anna a look but she only shrugged lightly.

"Well that's a wrap" Pedro and Nico shared a fist bump, the can that almost crushed Nico being the last thing they had to move.

"Why did you have to move everything?" Anna ran a flight feather over a squared metal frame with thick wires going from one side to the other; for what I've seen they use it as a guitar.

"We're thinking of changing the whole stage" Pedro pulled my sister and started telling her of all the changes they were planning to do to the stage. Nico started following them, but I pulled him in the other direction.

"You and I have some things to discuss" I grinned excitedly and pulled him to the back of the stage, the pain in my back subsiding, to a small part that was hidden by a long piece of fabric.

"Wait" I was practically dragging him, the wing that I wasn't holding was keeping his bottle cap in place. We stopped before the covered part of the stage, where Nico took the chance to straighten himself and arrange his bottle cap. He moved the curtain away and bowed swiftly "After you minha senhora"

I would have rolled my eyes at anyone else for doing that, but this was Nico.

"So what do you wanna talk about?"

I spun around fast enough for him to almost jump "Pedro likes Anna right?" Nico just stared at me for a moment, the question finally making effect as he looked around nervously.

"W-why do you ask?"

"Don't pretend, I know you've noticed" I crossed my wings across my chest "You can see it miles away. So does he like her?"

He tapped the floor with his talon, deep in thought. _Forgive me sis, I'm doing this for you. _"'Cause she has a huge crush on him"

Nico looked at me, a fair amount of shock in his face. If this doesn't get him talking, nothing will "She does?"

"Yup. But you didn't hear it from me; Anna would kill me if she knew I told you"

"Pedro would kill me too, y'know"

He gave me a knowing smile and my eyes widened a little in excitement "So Pedro has a…"

"Huge. I don't know why neither of them has noticed" He then said as an afterthought "But I didn't tell you anything" I literally had to cover my beak to stop myself from squealing. This was perfect beyond belief. Now I had official confirmation that he likes her, so if I try something to get them together there's almost no chance of messing up.

"We should do something to get them together" I grabbed his wing and shook him a little, the knowing smile turning to a grin "we should plan something romantic. Have any ideas?"

"Something romantic?" He placed a wing on his chest "Leave it to me. Just give me five minutes" He got out of our hidden spot and back to the stage with me following right behind; the pain in my back was starting to come back.

"What are you going to do?"

He gave me a grin over his shoulder and directed himself to were the band was resting "Trust me, I've got this one"

"But don't you have a performance in, like, ten minutes?"

He turned around for a moment, and moved his wing in a 'that's-the-point' movement "Exactly. You want romance, then I'll give you romance" he fluttered towards the band members leaving me standing on the spot, my back hurting a little bit more "But first, we need music".

* * *

**So as always rambling starts here: I messed up my computer and couldn't quite use it for a few days. Then yesterday I was on my way home all excited like '_yay I'm gonna get home and start writing'... _Lucky me got in a car crash two blocks away from my house (don't freak out, the only one hurt was my car). So I couldn't get this finished until today.**

**Now on with the reviews: **

**ILOVENICO1000X: Thank you for understanding my weird inspiration for the chapter :) and OMG i suck at flirting! I get him to be sweet, but not flirty! UGH! I need help... XD**

**EmmerzK: Horror movies freak me out too (A LOT) but I love them XD. Hopefully your questions have been answered :)**

**Ok guys, so that was chapter eight. Any suggestions for the song on next chapter? remember it must be romantic, but also the type of song Nico and Pedro would perform.**

**And I would also like to ask you guys to review. I love my usual reviewers (you guys are AWESOME!) but I also like to hear from the rest of you. What do you think of this story, what do you like, what do you hate, I'll even be happy if you just tell me what you had for breakfast. But I do like hearing from you guys. I mean, I'm not gonna go all _'If I don't get ten reviews in an hour, I won't post this until next week' _'cause that's just wrong. But it'd be nice if you took the time to tell what you think. Just saying...**

**As always I do not own Rio (Blue Sky Studios) but I own: Kalli, Anna, Sophie, Miguel, Luca, Bruno, Maia and Isabel.**


	9. Music Equals Love

**Worst writers block EVER!**

**Anyways, I don't own the song (cookie to the one that tells me where I changed the lyrics)**

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I was currently outside of The Branch, lying on top of a crate and looking at the sky. It took me a while to get up here with my strained muscles, but this position seemed to get the pain down to a dull ache. I hadn't felt this much tranquility since… well, in a while. The soft breeze, the last minutes of light in the sky, music in the background; it all mixed into my definition of peace. The only way to make it better would be to be at the beach, with the water covering my talons with every wave.

Maybe tomorrow I'll do just that.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost missed when someone landed on the crate I was resting on. _Almost._

"How did it go?" I looked behind me, still lying down, making everything look upside-down, and saw Nico looking at me with a surprised look.

"Seriously, you _have_ to teach me to do that". I chuckled a bit and looked back up at the sky. Nico sat down next to me.

"You didn't answer my question"

"Well, I told Pedro what we agreed I would, that this was the perfect chance for him to show Anna that he liked her; he was a little mad that I told you at first, and then he almost ran out of the stage, but I talked him into it" He said the last part with a proud tone "All in all, it was easy to convince him"

"Well done"

"You didn't doubt me, did you?" He glanced my way with a raised brow. I got a mocking, thoughtful and guilty look on my face.

"Well…"

"Ouch" He pretended to be hurt but he was holding back a smile "that hurts bonita. If it was the other way around I wouldn't doubt you" _Bonita _seemed to be my nickname now, 'cause Nico kept calling me that. Not that I really minded though, it's just that I've never had a nickname before. Now that I think of it, only Nico calls me that…

"Really?"

"Not for a second" He rested in his elbows and looked up at the sky. There was a smile in his beak and a glint in his eyes. A moment went by before I caught myself starting at him. I looked up at the sky, hoping he didn't notice.

_And why don't you want him to notice?_

I'll love to say that having discussions with my inner self is uncommon, but it would be a lie. Why don't I want him to notice: 'cause it'd be awkward.

_And why is that?_

It's awkward when someone stares at you. It would be awkward if he stared at me.

_If you keep thinking that, you might believe someday._

…Shut up.

I blocked whatever was left of our discussion and focused on the sky. There wasn't a single cloud on sight and it was almost night time. All traces of the sunset were gone, leaving a smooth dark blue surface above us. It looked like the dark color covered everything, but then I noticed a star to my left. It was the only star in the sky.

"Look" I tapped Nico's shoulder and pointed upwards with my wing "The first star of the night" my eyes softened a little as a wave of nostalgia filled me. It had been ages since I had come across one of these stars, either because of lack of luck, clouds blocking the view or bad timing. I used to look for them like crazy when I was little, Anna and I staying up all night till late seeing who could find them. We weren't the only ones though.

"My mother used to say they would grant you a wish if you sang to them before the other stars show up" I could feel Nico's eyes on me, but I just looked up. He knows Anna and I are orphans, but that's it. No one knows much with the exception of Rafael, who knows our parents died in a fire. This is actually the first time I say this to anyone, but it just comes out naturally with Nico. I feel like I can trust him with this.

"_Star light, star bright_, _First star I see tonight"_ I could listen to my mother singing with me and my sister, her voice soft and in perfect harmony. Even now I feel like her voice is the perfect one, while mine sounds childish _"I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight"_

"Kalli…" Nico was looking at me with a look I couldn't read, but it was obvious he was trying to find words. I'll just save him from the task.

"Quick, make a wish" I closed my eyes, not waiting for him to reply or to see if he was doing the same or just looking at me like I was crazy. I felt so small for a second, in both age and size. It had been a while since I did any of this, and it sure brought back memories.

I didn't really know what to wish for at first, and with every second that went on, the music coming from inside The Branch seemed to get louder and louder. Suddenly our task at wing, and my wish, popped up in my mind.

_'Please make Anna and Pedro see they like each other after this performance. 'Cause they'll never figure it out on their own'_

I could have asked for tons of things, but right now I can't think of anything that would make me happier than seeing the expression on Anna's face when she realizes that she likes Pedro (if she hasn't already, like I suspect), and that Pedro likes her back.

"Nico" Pedro's voice made me open my eyes and both Nico and I turn around. The cardinal saw me and gave me a small wave "hey Kalli. We're up next, you ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute"

"You seem nervous" I pointed out as Nico helped me up. Pedro just gave me a look that reassured my suspicions "don't worry, you'll do great. And I assure you she'll love it" I wasn't sure if Nico had told Pedro that my sister liked him, so I decided to skip that detail. The cardinal gave me a small grateful smile and then went back inside to get the last details in place.

Nico and I climbed down from the crate and started walking back to the club. We got there faster than I thought, and then I noticed I was walking faster than earlier. The pain in my back was gone.

"Nico" he turned over his shoulder at me and suddenly I felt like my question was dumb, but I asked him anyways "did you wish for something?" I had closed my eyes to quick to see.

"No I didn't"

I almost stopped dead in my tracks for some reason. Why wouldn't he make a wish? A sudden stab of fear took over me. Did he think it was too childish? Oh my, that would be beyond embarrassing, I'm not even joking. I walked after Nico a little faster, noticing I had actually stopped walking for a few seconds, and caught up with him when we reached the stage.

"Why not?" The music started to die in the background as the last song ended and the band prepared for Pedro and Nico "You've never made a wish on the first star of the night?"_Please don't say you haven't because it's childish, please, please, please…_

"Of course I have" I could see a blue and yellow macaw that I recognized from the band making sings at Nico, probably to tell him to get on the stage. Nico gave him a small nod and turned my way with a grin on his beak. What I thought was a wave of relief changed to something different when Nico moved my bangs, which were a little messy, back to their place and ran a flight feather lightly all the way to my chin. I gave the smallest of steps forward, and he did the same but not so small.

"But that wasn't the first star of _my_ night" His voice seemed to go deeper as his grin changed into smirk and his eyes narrowed in a way that made my breath hitch in my throat. His face was close enough for me to listen to his breathing, even with all the voices of other birds around us. He winked at me, making me blush a bit under my feathers.

"You better go look for Anna" Nico walked towards the stage and looked over his shoulder, smirk still there, before adding "I wouldn't want you to miss this" he adjusted his bottle cap and took off to meet Pedro backstage, leaving me rooted to the spot, completely speechless for multiple reasons, most of which I didn't fully understand.

* * *

"So this whole thing is to get Anna and Pedro together," Sophie tried to get all the information in just a few sentences, making sure she got the whole story right "but it started out as a celebration for you, for getting better"

"Yeah. What do you think?" She got a glint in her eyes and a huge smile on her beak.

"This is awesome! You know, I always thought there was a spark between them" we both smiled and started walking back to where Rafael, Miguel and Anna were standing. The parakeets had arrived while I was outside and when I finally located Anna in the massive crowd of birds, Sophie had dragged me to a corner saying we had to speak in private, giving me the perfect excuse to tell her my plan to get my sister and Pedro together.

"You think it'll work?"

"For sure. Pedro and Nico are great performers, and if your sister likes Pedro as much as I think she does, then this is bulletproof" her voice started to become a whisper as we reached the others and I had to focus quite hard in order to understand the last few words she said. When we got where the others were we both put on our best innocent smiles; not the creepy kind, the believable kind.

"We need to get somewhere higher" they all gave me a look, but I ignored it and kept looking for a good place for us to have a perfect view of the stage, but without the huge amount of birds that were down here "remember last time? It gets so crowded you can't even move. There, let's go" I pointed to a tall crate on the other side of the club. It was close enough to the stage to have a good view, but with almost no one around it.

Anna took off followed by Miguel and Sophie, but just as I was about to go there myself a blur of black feathers blocked my path. I took a step back and looked at Rafael, who kept his wing stretched before me.

"Where do you think you're going?" his fatherly tone made me feel like one of his kids "you can't fly"

"Of course I can. My back doesn't even hurt anymore" I fluttered in place and landed gracefully, but my back gave me a stab of pain that told me I was wrong "okay maybe it hurts a little, but I can handle it"

He gave me a look and I finally got on his back, a pout clear on my beak. I could swear I heard him mumble something about us young birds being so stubborn. Once we reached the top of the crate Anna helped me down and we sat down on the edge, getting in position for the show. Perfect timing, 'cause Nico got into view just as Sophie sat down next to Anna.

_"_Atenção por favor" the audience quieted down a little to listen "How are we tonight?" Everyone cheered a little, but went silent again at Nico's signal. Pedro was nowhere to be found.

"Tonight's performance is dedicated to a very special bird" he got a flirty tone and Sophie and I exchanged a glance "who I hope does more than just listening to the song" the light projector started to die down, leaving the place in darkness. In the last glimpse of Nico we had we heard him say "I hope she feels it"

There was a moment of total silence that kept us all in suspense. My smile kept growing with every second in pure excitement and anticipation. I could see Anna's profile in the dark which made my smile grow even more. Nico started singing before the light turned back on, and even before the music started playing, his voice echoing through The Branch in that amazing tone that only he has.

_"My heart's a stereo; It beats for you, so listen close. Hear my thoughts in every note o-oh" _The light projector, which also worked as a spotlight, let us see Nico but nothing else. He was holding his bottle cap with one wing while the other was limp by his side _"Make me your radio, Turn me up when you feel low. This melody was meant for you, So sing along to my stereo" _He stood still for a second before pointing to one side of the stage. Just as he did it the band started playing, the light projector filled The Branch with colorful light and Pedro appeared in the direction Nico had pointed.

It was the cardinal's turn to show what he could do on stage.

_"If I was just another dusty record on the shelf, Would you blow me off and play me like everybody else. If I asked you to scratch my back, could you manage that? Like it read well, check it, Pedro, I can handle that" _He moved and walked in time with the music, making wing and head gestures all the way to the center of the stage. It's the type of body language only Pedro can pull off without looking weird _"Furthermore, I apologize for any skipping tracks; It's just the last girl that played me left a couple cracks. I used to used to used to used to, now I'm over that, 'Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts"_

His voice got a little softer on the next few lines, his eyes darting our way a few times.

_"If I could only find a note to make you understand, I'd sing it softly in your ear and grab you by the hands. To keep me stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune, And know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you" _He pointed in out general direction, and even if it could be mistaken by a normal gesture at the audience, I knew it was aimed at us. Nico slid to the front of the stage and took on the chorus.

_"__My heart's a stereo; It beats for you, so listen close. Hear my thoughts in every note. Make me your radio, __Turn me up when you feel low" _In the last line he first pointed up and then did a perfect split, just to jump back up like if it was nothing _"__This melody was meant for you, So sing along to my stereo. Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh, to my stereo. __Oh oh oh oh, so sing along to my stereo"_

Pedro took the center of the stage again, but not before sharing a fist bump with his best friend.

"_If I was an old-school, fifty pound boombox, Would you hold me on your shoulder, wherever you walk. Would you turn my volume up in front of the cops, And crank it higher every time they told you to stop" _Pedro's hip hop moves went perfectly with the song, but something else caught my attention. Nico was standing in the other side of the stage, right next to the band, shaking his wings in exaggerated movements at us; he wanted one of us to go down there. I looked at Sophie, who had noticed Nico too but she just shrugged. Thankfully Anna had her eyes fixed on Pedro and hadn't notice the canary on the opposite side of the stage.

Who was supposed to go down there? Sophie and I were out of the question since we were sitting right next to my sister, and besides I couldn't fly. Rafael was surprisingly the only toucan in sight and Anna would recognize him immediately. That only left Miguel, who was sitting behind his sister. Sophie pulled him close enough to whisper something in his ear and he took off in a flash of green feathers that Anna didn't notice.

_"And all I ask is that you don't get mad at me, When you have to purchase mad D batteries. Appreciate every mixtape your friends make. You never know, we come and go like on the interstate" _Miguel reached the edge of the stage on a part that was in shadows and Nico leaned down to tell him something. The parakeet was back in a matter of seconds and whispered something to Sophie, who only nodded.

_"I think finally found a note to make you understand, If you can hit it, sing along and take me by the hand. T' keep me stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune, And know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you" _Pedro had a huge smirk on his face as he clearly pointed our way, making Anna tense up ever so slightly. Miguel stated to whisper something to Rafael as Nico started to sing again.

_"__My heart's a stereo; It beats for you, so listen close. Hear my thoughts in every note o-oh. Make me your radio, __Turn me up when you feel low" _Nico danced along with the song, keeping my sister distracted enough to give Miguel a chance to tell me whatever he told the others. He leaned close and whispered in my ear.

"On the bridge, we get to the back of the crate" I nodded and waited for our signal, not really knowing what Nico had in mind but trusting him none the less.

"_This melody was meant for you, So sing along to my stereo. Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, to my stereo. __Oh oh oh oh, so sing along to my stereo"_

Almost there…

"_I only pray you'll never leave me behind (never leave me)" _Nico sang the bridge while Pedro did the backup. Rafael immediately moved to the back of the crate followed by Miguel_"Because good music can be so hard to find (so hard to find)" _Sophie backed away really slowly and signaled for me to follow. I looked at Anna suddenly worried that she would notice me leaving.

_"I'll take your hand and hold it closer to mine" _I stood and carefully walked back towards the others, just as Nico made some distance between him and Pedro. Anna seemed to realize we were all gone, but just as Nico hit the last note my sister founded herself in the spotlight _"Thought love was dead, but now you're changing my mind" _Nico held the last note perfectly as Pedro flew up at us. Anna stood and my heart started racing. Nico took on the chorus from the stage one last time, putting as much emotion into it as he could.

_"__My heart's a stereo; It beats for you, so listen close. __Hear my thoughts in every note o-oh" _Pedro landed on the edge of the crate and got hit by the spotlight too. Anna started to back up towards us but stopped moving, not really knowing what to do _"__Make me your radio, __'N turn me up when you feel low" _Pedro took a step forward but Anna didn't move. Great, she's paralyzed what now?

"_This melody was meant for you, __So sing along to my stereo" _without thinking it twice, and in perfect sync, Sophie and I pushed my sister forward hard enough to move her, but not hard enough to make her crash into Pedro. He immediately took the chance to spin her; she finally seemed to realize what was going on and a blush worked its way up her cheeks.

"_Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, to my stereo.__Oh oh oh oh, so sing along to my stereo" _Pedro pulled Anna closer to him as he said –said, not sing- the last word to the song _"(Yeah)" _The lights went off for a few seconds just as I could see them leaning in, making it impossible to know if something had happened.

When the lights came back on Pedro was still holding Anna and she had a huge smile on her face. There was a roar of cheers and screams, even more than the last time I saw them perform. I looked at the stage but founded no one. When I turned to see who had turned off the lights I was met with the sight of Nico and Rafael sharing a fist bump; the later had managed to sneak behind us and leave, while the former just gave me a smile and tipped his bottle cap, his foot resting on the switch that turned the light projector on and off.

* * *

"Why did you do that?" Sophie and I cornered Nico once we met down on the floor, the poor guy trapped between a wooden box and us.

"They had the right to get a private first kiss" He pressed his back as hard as he could against the wood when we moved forward.

"Yeah, but now we don't know if they kissed or not!" I really wanted to see that kiss. Nico shrugged and gave us a nervous smile, then moved his wings as if telling us to calm down.

"Don't get your pretty feathers all fluffed up, you can ask them later" Sophie lunged at him and he jumped out of the way, bottle cap pressed on top of his head with one wing. We were going to chase him, but Pedro appeared on stage earning our attention and a round of cheers from the crowd. Nico materialized next to him faster than lightning.

"So, we just have a quick announcement before we leave" There was an 'awww' coming from the audience and Pedro gave them a sympathetic look "I know, I know, we don't want to leave either, but our next amazingly awesome performance won't plan itself"

"And our next performance will take some planning. We will be performing not one, but _three_ songs" The crowd reacted to that with claps, whistles and cheers while Nico and Pedro bowed a bit. This was probably nothing they had done before. Or maybe they had and it had been _that_ good.

"You know what this means" Nico gave me a knowing smile but I only furrowed my brows. What on earth were they talking about? Pedro and Nico gave each other a dramatic look before turning to the audience in pure excitement "singing and dancing competition!"

"We changed the date a little, hope you guys don't mind that it's in a few days"

"As you know we have three stages on the competition" Pedro spun Nico around fast and the dipped him dramatically "Dancing"

Nico jumped forward and said in a singing voice "Singing~"

They stood shoulder to shoulder and said together "and best lyrics"

"But you can't have a competition with just one team" Pedro said matter-of-factly while Miguel landed next to him on the stage. Sophie looked just as surprised as I was "we will need some good opponents"

"So, what do you say girls" Nico crossed his wings and looked straight at us, a smirk in his beak "are you up for it?"

"Or you too scared of us?" Pedro and Miguel had smirks of their own as they stood next to Nico, all of them looking at us from the stage. All the eyes at The Branch were on us right now, but it was as if only the six of us existed. I exchanged looks with Anna and Sophie and soon we had smirks of our own.

I fluttered to the stage as carefully as I could, not wanting to strain my back, and landed just a few steps away from Nico, Anna and Sophie right behind me with defiant looks on their faces. I placed my wings on my hips and moved my face closer to Nico's, both our smirks growing.

"You're on"

* * *

**This has been the weirdest week of my life, so I'll skip the rambling and go straight to your reviews:**

**EmmerzK: I like your music tastes, but I think they'll go better for the singing competition (best lyrics maybe). That's a lot of love :3 Soooooooo glad you like it so much (story, couples, etc) :D**

**ILOVENICO1000X: It's hard to get him to be flirty, hopefully I managed in this chapter (at least a little bit) thank u for the help (I really need it) :D and thanks for all the song suggestions :)**

**Niah09: OMG that's the most beautiful thing I have ever heard! (read, heard, same thing XD). And yeah my car is fine... kind of. it wasn't as bad as you probably imagined it to be. And yeah it came out of the movie; I got this quote app for my ipod and now I can listen to Nico 24/7 :3. Anyways, thanks for the help and the awesome review :D**

**Fiaz: Thanks, glad you liked/loved :). hahaha, don't worry, you have plenty of time to remeber the song's name (maybe I can use it in the competition). Yay lots of adjectives :D**

**So guys, I need tons of song ideas for the competition (remember its dancing, singing and best lyrics) and I also need an afficial name for the competition. **

**IMPORTANT: I'm starting my exams on tuesday, so I won't have that much time to write. I'll try my bet I promise.**

**I hoped you liked the chapter, and even if you didn't, just click that blue rectangle down there and tell me what you think. Dropping a review is always nice :)**

**I don't own: Rio (Blue Sky Studios) or the song I used. I do own: Kalli, Anna, Sophie, Miguel, Luca, Maia, Bruno and Isabel.**


	10. And The Winner Gets

**Guess who's back! I was supposed to be studying when I wrote this, but whatever, I studied in class XD**

* * *

"Okay, if we want to beat the guys we need a plan" Anna paced around the room while Sophie and I looked at her with raised brows and amused expressions. She was taking this further than getting ready for an event, and that is quite surprising "Any ideas?"

"Sophie has to dance" the parakeet gave me an almost shy look "you'll knock them off their feet" we smiled at each other before Anna wrote in the wall _'Dancing: Sophie' _with a chalk_. _After we left The Branch last night Anna, Sophie and I walked around the fruit market, which at that time of the night was closed, to have a girl talk. Poor Rafael had to stay close by to get me back home later. He insisted though.

We spent two hours talking about my sister and Pedro. Apparently they did kiss when Nico turned off the lights. It was just a small, quick kiss but it was enough to get Sophie and me squealing. I would be a little mad at Nico for making me miss that kiss, but Anna seemed quite grateful about it. When we were on our way back home, we came across a trash can with a broken blackboard inside it; I decided to bring some chalks back with me, just for the fun. They were proving to be useful, now being used to write song titles and performance ideas all over the wall in Anna's room.

We had come up with at least twenty-five song ideas, but most of them were crossed, being replaced with what we thought were better songs. Choosing songs was harder than it looked.

"Well you have to sing" Sophie poked me with a flight feather "they loved you last time"

"You sure?" I looked at them for approval. Is not that I don't love the idea, but it feels a little selfish. My only response was an eager nod from Sophie and my name written on the wall next to the word _'Singing'._

"Thanks girls" I plopped down on Anna's nest with my legs propped on the edge "but what about you sis?"

"I'll do the back up. You know how good we sound together" She wrote her name below mine and sat down on the ground next to Sophie, placing the chalk next to her nest. Sophie was looking at the wall with curiosity, as if the white, dusty words would tell her how we learned to write.

Most birds knew how to read, especially the ones that lived near the city, but the amount of birds who could write was smaller. Most didn't learn because there was no real need too, others, like Sophie, just couldn't. Holding a pencil with your talon is not impossible, but it is hard and after writing for a while it tends to hurt because of the angle you have to get; holding it with your wings is easier, but not by much, and let's not even start with writing with your beak.

So, most parents just teach their chicks how to read, but not write. Anna and I have our father to thank for the talent, him being a bird that lived with humans his whole life.

"So it's settled, Kalli will sing, Sophie will get all the choreography done, and have a huge solo performance in the dance number, and I will do the back up and organize whatever details might need organizing" Anna got a professional and serious tone that made me sit down properly for some reason.

"Sounds good" I looked at all our song choices and started picking my favorites. Anna extended her wing and I placed mine on hers, Sophie's soon joining. We counted to three and raised them in sync while cheering and laughing.

"So" Anna stood and walked to the wall watching the writing carefully "I think for dancing we should use-" I lunged forward and covered her beak. She gave me a panicked look but I placed a flight feather on my beak, signaling for them both to stay quiet. I pointed to the other room and they all saw a small shadow moving away.

I already knew who it was, and motioned for Anna and Sophie to keep talking like nothing happened while I sneaked out to give our visitor a surprise. The two girls started chatting again, taking my hint and not mentioning any of the songs we would use on the show, while I walked to the back of the room. Anna's room had a hole right on the corner, next to the roof, that had formed naturally on the tree. Anna covered it in leaves and kept it as a window with the excuse of fresh air and its benefits.

Like we don't have enough fresh air living inside a tree in the jungle of Rio de Janeiro. But that window never hurt anybody, and in cases like this it is useful to have it. I moved the curtain of leaves and squeezed through the small space, my body shooting out after much trying. I flew round our tree and landed outside without a sound.

I peeked inside and saw my sister's boyfriend pressed against the wall, glancing at the two girls in the other room.

And yes, I did say boyfriend; it became official last night.

I tiptoed inside, Pedro being too busy making sure no one would catch him, didn't notice me at all. He looked so focused, tongue poking out a little in pure concentration that I almost felt bad for what I was going to do. It felt even worse by the fact that I was going to enjoy it. I got as close to him as I could and then said in an unamused voice.

"Can I help you?" I crossed my wings across my chest and got my best poker face, even if I wanted to chuckle at Pedro's reaction. His whole body tensed up and his eyes widened so much and so fast, his pupils becoming small as dust specks, that I thought they would pop right out of their sockets. He slowly turned my way, only his eyes moving, and when he saw me he stumbled back at how close I was.

He walked backwards into the room where the girls were, and Sophie kicked the chalk in Pedro's direction. The white bar rolled through the floor and stopped right where Pedro tried to set foot, making the cardinal fall on his back.

"Girls!" Anna hurried to where her boyfriend lied and tried to help him up, but Pedro had had all the air knocked out of his lungs, making it impossible for him to move "could you be more careful with him? I would like him to end our first 24 hours together in one piece"

"Hey angel…" he managed to say, but it sounded like his final breath. My sister smiled though, so that gives the guy some points.

What? I'm taking care of my sister. No one will hurt her while I'm around.

_You do realize that's only three days right?_

Well that's only if Luca shows up, and we don't know if he will.

_What do you think?_

I found myself unable to answer that question. What I think makes no difference in the end, not with Luca. I tried to smile at Sophie's laughter, or at the scene of Pedro stretching his neck to peck my sister on her cheek, but I only cracked a smile. If something does happen, then what? I shook my head a little and pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind, locking them away before they could get dangerous. I'm not letting Luca ruin this moment; I won't give him the satisfaction.

"But he was spying on us" Pedro managed to get in a sitting position and looked at me like he was offended.

"Was not!"

"Then what were you doing?" Sophie and I gave him accusatory looks and the cardinal looked like he ran out of ideas. Someone landed in the entrance of the room and every pair of eyes in the room landed on Nico and Miguel, the later looking at Pedro with a raised brow while the former gave the cardinal a smug smile.

"I told you it was a bad idea" Pedro looked down while Nico shook his head.

"Has anyone told you guys you're terrible at spying?" Nico looked at me and gave me one of his smiles, a grin in his beak.

"Morning to you too sunshine" I couldn't stop the smile that formed in by beak "and just so you know, only Pedro was spying on you. I told him not to do it"

"Yeah" Pedro finally managed to stand and walked to his friends "you weren't wrong 'bout her" he pointed at me. I gave Nico a look that said 'explain' and he just shrugged.

"Told him you were too smart to fall for that" I felt some heat in my cheeks, but hid it quite well.

"That and you're freaky sixth sense caught me" Pedro seemed to realize something and eyed me carefully "how did you do that? I mean, how did you know I was here?"

I shrugged "you said it yourself, it's my sixth sense"

"What happened to your wall?" Miguel pointed to the wall that used to have our song list on it. I feared for a second that they had seen it and we would have to come up with a new song for each category, but when I turned I saw that there was almost nothing written on the wall anymore. All that was left were a few things like my name and a few songs that were already crossed; everything else looked like the bad attempt to erase that chalk from the wall, only a blur of white all over the wooden surface.

"Nothing" Sophie held her wings behind her back, but anyone could see that she was covered in chalk dust all the way up to her elbows. _Nice one Sophie._

…..

"So you guys already have your songs ready?" we all sat down on our hollow after helping Sophie get all the white out of her feathers. Anna and I finally had the time to get some rocks to use as chairs, but now we had four at the table and another four scattered about; enough for all of us to sit down.

"Almost done. We're just missing a few details. How 'bout you?" Nico, Anna, Pedro and I were sitting at the table, while Sohpie sat in a sun patch near the entrance to get her feathers dry. Miguel was sitting on a chair next to the wall, just so he could lean back.

I huffed a little and Nico gave me a knowing smile "Harder that it looks huh?"

"Yeah, I don't know how you guys do it"

"Years of practice" Pedro said from where he was sitting next to my sister, a wing around her shoulders.

"Don't worry; it shouldn't be so hard for you. You're a natural" Nico gave me a wink with his right eye, which was just out of sight for everyone but me. I gave him a smile that he immediately mimicked but adding his personal touch to it, making it look like a smirk.

"You know what would be awesome, and would definitely make this far more interesting?" Sophie said from the entrance, feathers apparently dry and a look on her face of pure excitement.

"What?"

"A bet" we all exchanged looks, not really following "I mean, what is a competition without a prize right?"

Miguel seemed to think about and gave a quick nod as response.

"Sounds interesting" Nico leaned in his elbows and glanced my way "What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea" Nico looked at me like he was thinking of something and then seemed to have a great idea, but kept quiet.

"Wait, so we can just make bets with anyone from the other group?" Anna asked as if making sure she understood. Sophie seemed to think it for a second before nodding. Anna immediately grabbed Pedro's wing and pulled him into her room, that look of 'I-just-had-a-great-idea' clear in her face. Miguel moved forward and grabbed his sister by her shoulders, leading her outside.

"What?" she looked a little confused, but Miguel just smiled.

"I'm not lettin' this opportunity slip" he pushed her outside and they both perched on a branch on a tree next to ours.

"Guess it's only you and me bonita" Nico stood and leaned on the wall, wings crossed and feet sliding to the point I thought he would fall to the ground. Everyone was making bets in case the other team lost, probably convincing the other to accept things they normally wouldn't.

_Hello! Accept things they normally wouldn't!_

In that moment I had the best idea of my life.

"How 'bout we make this interesting?" Nico gave me a surprised look, but it soon changed to an interested one.

"I'm listening"

"Let's make a bet of our own. If you lose" Nico gave me an expecting look, probably not expecting my mind to be as stubborn as it is "you tell me the bottle cap story" Nico seemed to go pale, all confidence leaving him for a second and full panic taking its place. He finally settled with an expression that showed he wanted to know more, but he looked a little nervous.

"And what's your offer?"

"I don't know… what do you want?"

Nico thought of it for a long moment, taking of his bottle cap and tapping it with his wing. I waited patiently for him to say something, not daring to interrupt him in case he reconsidered everything and decided to back down. He seemed to make up his mind, a smirk taking over his beak as he placed his bottle cap back on.

"Alright" A smile started to show on my beak, but it fell at his expression "but if _I_ win, then you have to answer some of my questions. Complete truth, no holding back"

I froze at what he said. The possible questions he could ask circling my mind faster than I could register them all, but a few stood out. He could ask who Maia and Bruno were, or why they hated me and Anna so much. He could even ask what happened to my parents, or what hallucinations I had when I was sick.

Every single question made my stomach tie itself in knots.

For the first time in years, my inner self decided to support me instead of attacking me with sarcastic remarks.

_If you accept this and he wins, you'll have to tell him everything. He can ask anything and you'll have to say the truth. But if you win he will tell you the bottle cap story. _

What if he gets scared after I tell him the truth?

_It could happen. You need to think if that bottle cap is worth the risk._

I looked at Nico and was about to tell him to forget the whole thing when my mind added.

_Luca is coming back in three days. Whatever happens won't have a huge effect anyways_.

I looked down not knowing what to do or say. In the corner of my eye I could see Nico's smirk starting to fade, concern taking over his expression at my silence. If I tell him the truth, then I'll know for sure what he thinks of me, and if I win then I'll know the bottle cap story. My mind is right for once; Luca will be here in a few days anyways, so there's not much to lose.

"How many questions?"

"…What?" Nico looked a little stunned so I turned to face him fully.

"How many questions are you going to ask me?" it took one look at his face for me to add "we need a limit"

"Okay… how 'bout ten?" he looked at my expression and quickly corrected himself "Nine?"

"Four" we had to reach a deal at some point.

"Eight"

"Four" he gave me an unamused look, but I got a decided one instead. I was not giving in.

"Seven"

"Five, but you have to tell me absolutely everything about that bottle cap. Up to the last detail" I looked at him with a look that said I wasn't going to negotiate any further. He gave my last offer a thought and got a decided look on his face too.

"Give me six questions and you have a deal" he extended a wing and looked at me dead in the eye, his confident smile returning to his beak. That smile along with the determination in his eyes made my heart skip a beat; it was either that or how nervous I was.

_Six questions can reveal a lot, you should th-_

Screw you.

I took his wing in mine and shook it hard, a feeling of regret threatening to take over me, but I quickly shook it off. No turning back now.

Nico tipped his bottle cap at me "Pleasure doing business with you, Miss Kalli"

A smile took over my beak as part of the fear faded "Likewise"

I just hope I didn't make a mistake.

Ten seconds after he sealed our deal Sophie and Miguel entered the hollow and Anna and Pedro came out of her room. Everyone looked content with whatever they had arranged between each other. Anna seemed particularly happy, as she kept looking at Pedro and the Nico and me with a knowing smile on her face.

"Well boys it was nice to have you here, but we need to practice" Sophie started dragging Miguel outside and once he was out of the hollow, she grabbed Pedro away from my sister. She managed to give him a small kiss before he was pushed out of the entrance.

Nico decided to find his own way out before being kicked out, and while his best friend disappeared from view he turned my way.

"Bye, bonita; and good luck" he dodged Sophie and flew outside while saying "you'll need it!" with that they dashed through the trees, probably going back to wherever they're putting their number together.

"You think that was a warning?" Anna crossed her wings and looked at where the guys had been just seconds ago. I started to walk back to her room, Sophie following right behind me.

"I think it was more like, friendly advice" the parakeet had a confident smirk on her face as she sat down on the ground and stretched her wings. Anna soon entered and sat down on her nest.

"Well, we can't get our guards down with them"

"No we can't; we need to be ready and hit them hard" I grabbed the chalk from the ground and started to write down some song titles that I knew we could use, and that I remembered we agreed on practicing "They won't even know what hit them"

With that we continued our rehearsal, now more motivated than before.

I guess a prize does make things more interesting.

* * *

**My exams are almost over guys, but I still have a few left. Just wait I'm almost done.**

**We are one step closer to either Kalli's past or the bottle cap story, what do you think of that?**

**Review time!**

**EmmerzK: Nice suggestion XD. We are on the process, I just have to find a nice way to get them together (I have a few in mind that might work) and thanks, I hope I do well too :P**

**ILOVENICO1000X: I finally did it! I got him to be flirty! YAY! XD. Oh they will be together sooner than you think (I'll take a while, but not so much) the singing competition might be the perfect moment for some romance don't you think? ;D**

**Niah09: That's correct! Here's your cookie *hands you a cookie*. You live in Australia? I meant the butterfly idea (it was soooooooooo beautiful) but it was also really nice from you to worry about my car :3. The more songs the better, I love to discover new music. OMG you're right, I do have a quarter of a hundred reviews! thanks! :D**

**JahMasterWikiwuki: Awww thanks! I'm so glad you like this story so much, and I hope you still love it once we reach the end, I shall not disappoint you! and thanks for the review :)**

**Well guys you still have two chapters to make song suggestions, so anything you have in mind you can tell me. You can always drop a review, every single one will be more than welcome :)**

**Don't own: Rio (Blue Sky Studios). Do own: Kalli, Anna, Miguel, Sophie, Maia, Bruno, Luca and Isabel. **


	11. Somewhere Only We Know?

**Message number 1: FUCK YEAH! NO MORE SCHOOL! *little dance* which means that I have all the time in the world to write this fanfic :D**

**Message number 2: Holy $#*! this chapter is the longest until now. But it won't be the longest in the whole story... hope you guys don't mind.**

**Message number 3: This chapter could mean the difference between this story being the most amazing thing ever, or a complete and absolute disaster. I hope it's the former, but you guys decide.**

* * *

The rest of the day went by without distractions or attempts of spying from the guys, much to our relief; we didn't want to write everything down again on the wall. We were finally able to choose our three songs and practice them for a few hours, each of us putting as much into it as we could.

The girls helped me with my singing, polishing a few things and practicing some of the higher notes; we also had to practice with the harmonies, but that was fairly easy. Sophie taught us some basic dance steps, mostly hip hop and jazz at my request. She also took the chance to show us the best things she knew. That girl really knows how to dance, and apparently she can rap too.

My sister decided she would stay in the background during the actual performance, but she had the spotlight during the rehearsal, organizing every single song individually and having a mental image of how everything would look together. We would have been lost without her, or at least spent most of our time getting everything ready, which she did in ten minutes flat.

We had even spared an hour to go to the beach in search for pieces of glass; Anna had the amazing idea to make us all matching anklets, all like the one she gave me for my birthday. We made a dark blue one for my sister and a red one for Sophie, the three pieces of jewelry kept in the same match box until the competition tomorrow night.

At the end of the day we had everything ready for the competition and we were sure we could beat the guys, but we couldn't even stand of how exhausted we were. We were so tired that Sophie was unable to fly back to her hollow when Miguel came to pick her up.

So right now we're all in Anna's room talking of anything we can think of before going to sleep. Sophie's staying in this room because the nest is a little bigger and my sister and I will crash in my nest.

"I swear, I never thought this competition would take _this_ much effort" Sophie literally crawled across the room until she reached the nest. She somehow managed to climb inside, landing in an awkward position with her neck bent in an odd angle and one of her wings under her body. She seemed to debate whether the discomfort was greater than her laziness, but she got into a better position in the end.

"I know…" Anna agreed, her eyelids already falling over her eyes.

"I think we should go to sleep" I shook Anna a little, and immediately rushed to hold her when she was about to hit the ground. _Gosh, this girl is really tired. _The sudden movement was enough to wake her up; well at least enough to make her stand and walk to my room. Sophie and my sister shared a mumbled goodnight without even looking at each other, leaving me standing in the middle of the room.

I focused for a second on the wall that was still covered in white, our three songs circled in different parts of the wall.

"Maybe I should…" I thought of cleaning the wall just in case the boys decided to come back next morning, to avoid the risk of them seeing or song selection, but the thought was crushed by a huge sensation of fatigue "Nah, tomorrow. Night Sophie"

There was a muffled response from the green parakeet that was currently curled into a small heap of feathers, but that was all I got. When I got to the other room after what seemed like the longest distance ever, my sister was already in my nest with her head hidden under her wing, giving the impression of being asleep. I got next to her as carefully as my tired mind would allow and snuggled closer to the other canary.

"Tough day" Anna's voice startled me a little but I nodded in response when my mind and my body decided to act in sync "we're so gonna beat them…" and with that my sister fell asleep. I chuckled a little and closed my eyes.

"Yes we are" that being said I got a much deserved rest.

* * *

I woke up earlier than I would want to when someone yanked me out of my nest. I thought it was Anna until I crashed into the floor violently. My eyes snapped open but before I could utter a word I was pulled to my feet and my beak was covered. I could feel someone breathing close to my ear.

"Make a sound and I'll snap your neck. Understood?" The deep, threatening tone was no other than Bruno's. His hold on me tightened, effectively snapping me back from my panic and earning a small nod from me. The Blackcap dragged me out of my room, Anna still sleeping soundly in my nest, and sat me down in a chair.

Luca was sitting across the table looking at me with a smile.

"Sorry about the hour, but I couldn't wait to see you" He closed his eyes in pure glee, but when they opened again they had a cruel glint in them "did you miss me?"

I stared at him for a moment in utter shock and confusion. This couldn't be real, it just couldn't. Why were Luca and Bruno here, when Anna and Sophie could see them? Was I hallucinating again? No, this felt different from an hallucination.

"Y-you… you said…" The words that were on my mind refused to come out, making me stutter. Luca gave me a curious look and rounded the table to sit on the chair next to mine, making it even harder for me to speak correctly.

"What is it?" he placed a wing on my shoulder, making my body tense and shake at the same time "Tell me" his tone and the pressure he applied in my shoulder made in sound like an order.

"You said you'd give me a week" my voice cracked a little in the end, and immediately bit my tongue to avoid saying anything else with that weak tone. Luca gave me a sympathetic look and pulled me to my feet. He placed his wings in my shoulders and gave me a knowing, but not mocking look.

"My dear Kalli" His look hardened so fast that my heart skipped a beat "you're lucky I gave you what I did" He pushed me back where Bruno got a hold of me again. Just then Maia fluttered inside and landed gracefully next to Luca, who placed a wing casually around her shoulders.

"You see, since you already know about us, there's no point on hiding or in waiting" He looked like he was about to say something else but was stopped by a loud… yawn? Everyone looked as surprised as I felt, Maia's expression also showing annoyance. The yawn was coming from my room, and the moment that I noticed that, I froze.

Luca got the biggest grin ever, his eyes flashing with darkness "but Anna doesn't know we're here" he glanced my way "assuming you kept your beak shut" he snapped the last word in a way that made me wince and Maia giggle.

The Stonechat pulled the other girl into a one wing hug "Well, now that we're here, it'd be rude not to say hi, don't you think babe?" the other bird immediately smiled and pulled Luca into my room, where my sister was still sleeping.

"Luca! Luca please don't! You already have me, leave her out of this" I struggled against Bruno's grasp, but he was far stronger than me. Even in my panicked state I was trying to keep my voice down, as if not waking Anna or Sophie would keep them out of danger.

Luca gave me an amused look before using the coldest voice I have ever heard.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but you didn't kill Isabel on your own, did you?" he gave Bruno a nod before following Maia into the other room "get her out of here"

"No! Luca wait! Luca!" I struggled as much as I could, but Bruno pulled me to the entrance in a swift movement, making my whole world spin and getting me to trip and hit the ground.

* * *

I bolted upright as fast as I could, my eyes wide and my heart going a thousand miles per hour. I covered my beak to keep to myself any screams that could come out, and looked around. One look at the sleeping form next to me was enough to make me sigh in relief.

_It was just a dream, just a bad dream, just a… no Kalli stop it, don't cry; it wasn't real._

Thanks for trying inner me, but if I could stop I would do it. I got out of the nest and walked outside, my legs shaking like leaves. I sat down on the branch that's right outside our hollow and started taking deep breaths. Even if I knew it was a dream, it had been so real…

I groaned in-between shaky breaths as a small, yet vital truth made its way to my mind. I've been saying that no matter what I do, Luca will come for me once the week he gave me concludes. But in reality, I'm absolutely terrified of what will happen when he comes. For all I know, he could just kill me on the spot or, as he and Maia put it, would take his time to have some fun. Even my nightmare could come true. I shook my head trying to get those thoughts away but they kept coming back, crushing my skull from the inside and demanding to be heard; I was going to get a horrible headache.

I decided to leave my hollow for a while to calm down without the risk of Anna or Sophie waking up and asking me what was wrong; I really didn't want to explain, and I just can't come up with a believable lie right now.

I flew for a few minutes, catching as many updrafts as I could, and got to a small stream. I landed and splashed some water in my face, trying to clear my mind and convince my body that I was awake. I started shaking a little; because of the freezing water or the fact that I was still having trouble breathing, I couldn't tell.

I covered my face with water and kept my wings in my ears, focusing on my heart beat. It was starting to go back to its regular rhythm, but raced again when someone landed next to me. Too scared to even try to figure out who it was, I jumped back and faced the new comer.

And that turned out to be no other than Nico, who was looking at me with a curious and almost bewildered expression.

"Kalli?"

"Oh my God" I clutched my chest, checking if my heart was still beating, and closed my eyes in pure relief "it's just you"

"Glad to see me?" he raised a brow and gave me a smile. I managed to nod, even if it came out a little shaky.

"What are you doing here?"

"Might ask you the same. Pedro woke me up so I decided to take a flight; what's your excuse?" he walked closer to me, his eyes glancing lazily around the foliage that surrounded us "don't you know it's dangerous for a pretty girl like yourself to wander off all alone?" Nico tried to pull a small joke there, giving me a small smirk. Unluckily the only thing I could do was shake and look at the stream that was a few steps away from us.

The canary finally took in my state: my shaking body, my slightly ragged breathing, my red and puffy eyes and probably my tear stained feathers.

"What's wrong?" he sounded surprised, but concern took over as he pulled me to take a better look "Kalli, what is it? Tell me" a huge tremble shook my body and I had to pull myself away from him. I knew there was no reason to get away from Nico, but I just couldn't hear those words without thinking of how Luca had said them in my dream. _No, they're nothing alike._

"It's nothing" I looked down to avoid the hurt that was concealed in his eyes "I'm fine, really, it's dumb actually"

"It can't be dumb if it got you like this" he lowered his head a little, making me look at him "Don't bottle it up"

"It… it was just a bad dream"

He nodded understanding "Wanna talk 'bout it?"

I shook my head slightly, but felt like I had to at least tell him something "it's just that it was so… _real_" I shuddered a little.

"Maybe you're still sick?" he placed the back of his wing on my forehead, making part of the coldness from the water disappear. He noticed my face was still wet and let his wing fall by his side, silence falling along with it. Nico looked like he wanted to say something but my expression silenced him. After about twenty seconds, I couldn't handle the awkwardness anymore.

"Why did Pedro wake you? What was he even doing up at this hour?"

"He didn't have to get up" I furrowed my brows in confusion "he talks in his sleep"

"Really?"

"Yeah, he does it every now and then. But I think today's practice got to him, 'cause he was singing when I left" I suppressed a giggle and Nico gave me a half smile. The image of Pedro talking and moving his wings while Nico simply ignored him was something I wouldn't be able to forget anytime soon.

"You know, you didn't tell me why you were here" Nico told me.

"I told you, I had a nightmare"

"I know, but if you had a nightmare why not stay home instead of being alone out here?"

At first I stayed silent, not really knowing how to explain my reasons to him. I focused on the small stream at our feet and kicked a rock, the object creating waves as it sunk.

"I didn't want to wake them. Besides, I like it out here" my body had finally stopped shaking, but my voice was still shaky "just be by myself, think for a while, you know?"

"…Yeah, I do"

Nico glanced my way and started talking slowly, at first looking into the distance and then focusing on me.

"Hey, since we're both awake and have nothing to do, maybe we can, I dunno, hang out for a while?" at first I nodded absentmindedly, but as his words registered in my mind my heart seemed to froze and pick up speed at the same time. Okay, calm down, you're probably overreacting. _Tell him something. Anything!_

"You have somewhere in mind?" well, that could have come out worse. He gave me a sly smile and spun in his heels.

"I have an idea. But we'll have to fly for a while" He skipped off to a rock and turned my way "you up for it?"

_It's not like you have plans for the night._

"Sure" we took off, flying through the trees at a slow pace, no hurries in our trip while we followed the stream through the jungle. It was a beautiful night, stars covering every inch of the sky. It was amazing what a difference there was between day and night in the jungle. Sounds of birds and other animals were replaced for the night creatures and other things that seemed to only come to life during the night. The whole thing had a mysterious and captivating thing about it.

"Come on" Nico did a back flip before heading down to the ground "we're here" we landed on a small clearing surrounded by some of the tallest trees I'd ever seen. The tree trunks were so close together that they seemed to form an impenetrable barrier. Nico headed for the tallest tree and I followed closely; this place didn't look as bad form the sky, but down here it looks a little spooky.

This tree was huge, twice as big as any of the others. Its roots broke through the ground and then crashed back in, giving the impression of the sea monsters in old human maps, or a snake leaping out of the water. The roots managed to lift the tree from the ground on one side, making a small cave.

"After you" Nico stepped aside and extended his wing, signaling for me to step inside the dark space. I gulped a little and walked hesitantly, not really knowing why on Earth he would bring me here for "you're not afraid of the dark are you? 'cause if you are I can hold your wing" the canary gave me a mix between a grin and a smirk, causing me to blush a little.

"I'm fine thank you" I walked inside trying to hide the heat on my cheeks, but stopped halfway into the cave. It was so dark I couldn't even see where I was going. I held my wings in front of me in an attempt to find a root to grab and follow, but all I founded was air. My search became a little more frantic when I turned around and saw that Nico was gone; or at least not where light allowed me to see him.

"Nico?" why couldn't I hear him? I stopped searching and just stood still, focusing on my surroundings. Still it was like Nico had banished, not a single sound besides my own breathing. I furrowed my brows absentmindedly and looked at the entrance of the cave once more, hoping to see him standing there. _Where is he?_

I practically jumped out of my feathers when a pair of wings grabbed me by my sides and pulled me back. A small yelp escaped my beak, earning a chuckle from Nico.

"Nico!" I tried to turn around and face him, but he held me firmly in place; not that I would have been able to see him with this lack of light anyways.

"Relax baby bird, no need to be scared" he pulled me back until my back bumped lightly into his chest "I'm right here" I don't know if it was his mocking tone or the fact that we were to close for comfort, but my eyes widened and an evident blush reached my cheeks.

"Come on, let's go" I didn't even knew why we were here, or what 'here' was, but all of a sudden that was all I wanted to find out. It was either that, or how deep my blush could get. Nico's response was to hold me closer to him and somehow place his head on top of mine, even if he wasn't that much taller than me.

"What, don't like it here?" I could hear the smirk in his beak as he spoke, his tone replacing part of the mocking with something else; whatever it was only got my cheeks get an even deeper shade of red.

"Nico…" there was a small warning implied in my tone, which finally got the other canary to push me softly away from him with a sigh.

"Fine" he guided me through the darkness like an expert, not doubting for a second where he set foot. It was almost like he could see in the dark, but the most probable explanation was that he knew this place quite well.

Suddenly I realized there was a light at the end of what I now knew wasn't a cave, but a tunnel. There was enough light to see, but Nico didn't let go of me until we got out from under the roots.

"Welcome to my personal piece of heaven" the place wasn't that big, maybe a few squared feet, but it had enough space to allow a bird our size to fly comfortably. The place was completely hidden from the rest of the jungle, one side covered by the tree and its roots, another covered by a tall and flat rock and the rest covered by some very dense foliage. The ceiling was formed by tree branches and a few vines that hanged around loosely, making the place invisible to any passing bird. There was a place that wasn't covered, letting the moonlight enter and the starts reflect on the stream that we had followed, and apparently crossed this place.

All in all, the place was wordy of the name 'piece of heaven' as Nico had called it.

"Wow"

Nico suppressed a chuckle and fluttered to a root that passed over the flowing water, forming a very practical bridge. We sat down next to each other in silence, a content smile in both our beaks. I got my feet in the water and immediately let out a sigh.

"Where are we?"

"I come here to think, be by myself, and work on songs"

"Wait, you write songs?"

"Of course, when inspiration hits" Nico said matter-of-factly, and I just gave him a raised brow look.

"Singer, dancer and songwriter" my smile grew as he gave me a proud grin "anything else you can do?"

"I play the guitar" I rolled my eyes and pushed him slightly with my shoulder, earning a smirk form him.

"Anna tried to teach me how to play once, but I just couldn't do it" those were hours and hours of my sister and I practicing with a made shift guitar, Anna as the patient teacher and me as the student. I didn't hold back any of the information she gave me, but even if I did, I would still be a mess with the instrument.

"I could teach you"

"Nah, it's okay. I'm more interested in your song writing abilities" I turned a little to face him, an interested look on my face.

"What do you wanna know?"

"How do you do it?" writing was something that I was really bad at. Nico shrugged and thought about it for a second, but just shrugged once more.

"I dunno, it's hard to explain" I scooted closer to him to which he smiled "first you need something like… an emotion you want to get in the song, then it's all about getting the words, which is the hardest thing. It's really all about feeling it…"

"In here" we chorused, each of us with a wing in our chest. Nico looked at me with a surprised look that soon transformed into one of his smirks.

"I see you're a fast learner"

"I had a good teacher"

"Thanks bonita, I feel flattered" We laughed a little and fell quiet. But it wasn't the awkward type of silence, or at least not for me. I had finally managed to get my breathing back to normal, but the reflection the stream provided showed me my still slightly bloodshot eyes. An occasional shiver would escape my control, but other than that, I was good as new.

"Nico?" he simply answered with a 'hmmm?' so I continued "how did you find this place?" as amazing as it was, this place was obviously a combination between luck and coincidence, all the elements that sheltered it from the rest of the jungle just in the perfect place to do so. Nico looked stunned for a slight moment as I waited patiently for his answer.

"I found it when I was a kid and kind of kept it as my own. Other birds don't usually come this way so it's pretty much unknown to everyone but myself" his eyes got a little distant in a way that I recognized, but also one that was different from any look Nico had ever had. It was almost like the look he got when he told me of his first performance at The Branch, but this time he looked almost… sad "you're actually the first bird I bring here"

"What? Not even…" Surely Pedro and Rafael know about this place… right?

Nico shook his head, bottle cap swaying in his head "Nope"

My whole expression showed how surprised I was, speechless to say the least.

"Then… why did you bring me here?" his eyes met mine, thankfully the melancholic expression was long gone from his face.

"I wanted to show you the…" he seemed to remember something important, like for example, why he brought me here in the first place. He bolted upright and pulled me along with him "I totally forgot! I hope we can still see them" he walked back to the tunnel and for a moment I thought we were leaving, but he took a detour and simply hid in a dark corner covered by an especially thick root.

"Trust me" he positioned me in front of him, his wings in my shoulders and his beak next to my ear "you'll love this"

We stayed like that for a minute or two but nothing happened. I shuffled a little trying to fight the temptation of walking back out.

"Nico, not to ruin the mystery, but what are we waiting for?"

"Relax bonita" I hadn't realized how close Nico really was until he whispered right next to my ear "you'll know when you see it"

I decided to pass the time sorting through my thoughts, which right now where coming and going so fast it was making me dizzy. Where to begin… I got a glimpse of Nico from the corner of my eye and suddenly had one thought on top of the others.

It's Anna's voice on my birthday party, telling me I like Nico.

I tried not to focus on the canary right behind me and tried to organize my thoughts. Right now I had three little voices telling me different things. If I ever thought my inner self alone was annoying, I obviously didn't know _this_ could happen.

The first voice showed me the night of my party (so each voice comes with a presentation? great…) when I met Nico. When I first saw him I noticed how good looking he was, and founded myself blushing a little at some things he said or did. I remembered feeling like my heart had stopped when I heard him speak in Portuguese. It also showed the night Anna and Pedro got together, when Nico left for the stage leaving me rooted to the spot at his comment about _his_ first star. _Isn't it obvious? Anna was right: you like him and he likes you too. He's been leaving hints everywhere!_

The second voice stepped in, not even giving me time to think about what the first voice said.

This time I saw Pedro with his wing around my sister's shoulders, and then Nico and Pedro sharing a fist bump while performing. _What are you thinking? He's Pedro's best friend, and Pedro is Anna's boyfriend. You can't just draw conclusions, not with HIM! Besides, for all you know, he could be this nice with every girl he meets._

A third voice silenced the second one, making me glad to hear my inner self for the first time ever.

I saw Nico and I cleaning up my hollow after Maia and Bruno trashed it, just talking and pulling jokes on each other. I saw myself stealing his bottle cap and then racing him for it, laughing the whole race. Just friendly moments, really. _Right now you're only friends, but you know it's not the same type of friendship you have with Miguel or Pedro. Maybe he is this nice with every single girl he meets, but even if he is, we first need to solve something: do you like him?_

Right now I thought my head was going to crack open, both form the voices and how hard I was thinking of what they said. True, I think Nico is quite handsome, true that our friendship isn't the same as with the others and also true that I blush at some things he says. But having an actual crush on him?

As always, my head had something to add.

_He did say you were the only one he's brought here, and he is willing to tell you the story behind his bottle cap. If those aren't hints, I don't know what they are._

I think I hate voice number one more than I hate my inner self. But what if she has a point? Maybe, just _maybe_ and very, _very_ deep inside me I d-

"Kalli look!" Nico whispered in my ear, snapping me back to reality quite harshly "there, you see it?" I was completely dumbstruck for a second, not even remembering where I was. Once I got all the missing pieces from my memory, I recalled I was waiting to see whatever Nico wanted to show me. But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't identify what the other canary was pointing at.

All I could see was the reflection of the stars in the water of the stream. I squinted a little, trying to see better, but nothing changed. Just stars. No wait, is that star… moving? It could be a shooting star, but that makes no sense; there's no way Nico could predict a shooting star would pass tonight. Besides shooting stars don't move that slow… or change direction.

_What is that? _

It took me a moment to notice some other stars were also moving, and that they were bigger than the ones that were immobile. After another moment my mind finally registered what these moving stars really were.

Fireflies. The whole clearing was slowly getting filled by the small luminous insects, which floated in the air lazily, their lights flickering to talk to each other.

"What do you think?"

"It's amazing"

"I knew you'd love it" Nico said with a satisfied tone, while I just looked around fascinated. I had never seen this many fireflies together. One of them got away from the rest and founded our hiding spot, illuminating what used to be a dark place. Nico extended his wing, still standing behind me, and the firefly posed in his flight feathers without a doubt. I simply smiled in amazement until Nico used his free wing to hold mine. He tilted his other wing and got the small insect to walk into my wing.

The firefly rested there for a moment before taking off, back to the clearing with the rest of the dancing lights.

I followed it with my eyes and when I couldn't tell it apart from the other hundreds of insect I turned to look at Nico, just to find his face only a few centimeters away from mine. He was looking at me with a look that I simply couldn't identify, but it was enough to get some serious color into my cheeks. I didn't dare blink in fear something would happen while my eyes opened again, but we just stayed like that, eyes on each other and his wing not letting go of mine.

His face got a little more illuminated and I got the courage to tear my eyes off his face. We looked up to find a firefly sitting on Nico's bottle cap and with no intentions of leaving. Nico tapped the metal with a single flight feather, making the tiny insect walk into his forehead. I giggled as he looked at the firefly cross-eyed and shook his head, getting it to fly away into the tunnel that had lead us to the clearing.

"Maybe we should go back" I turned away slightly, fearing the light from the firefly had made my blush evident.

"Yeah" Nico stepped away from me; all those hours without sleep taking their toll on us both "we have the competition and everything"

I glanced once more at the clearing before walking behind Nico, not wanting to get lost in the darkness again.

We flew back home trying to keep each other awake while trying to stay in the sky ourselves. We got to my hollow first and landed just outside.

"Well" Nico stretched a little "I'll be heading home"

"Nico" _don't fall asleep Kalli, hold on for a while _"thank you, for everything"

He tipped his bottle cap and gave me a smile "At your service minha senhora"

I matched his smile and moved forward. If the only way to silence these annoying voices is making one of them happy… I pecked his cheek, getting closer to the corner of his beak than I normally would even think of, but we were both too tired to even register that in the moment "Goodnight Nico"

"Night Kalli"

I heard him leaving as I walked into my room, Ana still in the same place she was when I left. I crashed face first inside the nest, not really caring about getting in a comfortable position, and fell asleep seconds afterwards, one of the voices in my head saying almost in pure satisfaction.

"Told you"

* * *

**My God, this was SOOO hard to write. I'm so bad at flirty Nico, but I think I don't suck that much at normal romance. I think.**

**Sorry for keeping you guys waiting, but my exams were so HARD (I failed spanish, but shhhhh, my mother doesn't know... if she did I wouldn't be using the computer right now)**

**Review time!: **

**ILOVENICO1000X: What is a competition without a bet right? Oh, you shall wait till the end of the whole thing to know what they bet on (maybe a while till we find out) but I think it's quite good :) OMG I hope you like the songs, 'casue I've changed them like 3000 times XD**

**EmmerzK: Ohhh, we'll have to see who wins to know what story we hear. It'll be interesting, if I may say so ;D. Oh my, sorry if I got you confused. I think I explained in this chapter, but if I didn't I'll let Luca answer for me. Luca: what fun would there be in just killing her? Maia and I want to have some fun. (My God, I love Luca... am I messed up? XD)**

**Niah09: You should totally write a story, it'd be awesome! and OMG I can't believe I'm talking with someone from another continent. I salute you form Mexico :D. To be totally honest, I'm not sure if I'm using it, but I think there could be a good chance in a future chapter... I'll try :). YAY for getting Nico's character right, YAY for feeling ninja-ish and YAY for inner arguments! XD song selection is so hard... XD**

**JahMasterWikiwuki: Thanks :) and we'll hear both stories, it's just a matter of who wins the competition. which one do you prefer? **

**Guys, just a heads up with next chapter: next two chapters will be the competition, and they will be LONG. Hope you're ready to read that much. **

**So you know what to do, just press that blue button down there and drop a review telling me what you thought of this (in this chapter, a review would be GREATLY appreciated)**

**Don't own: Rio (Blue Sky Studios). Own: Kalli, Anna, Sophie, Miguel, Luca, Maia, Bruno and Isabel.**


	12. Competition Part 1

**This was hard to write... but it wasn't as long as I thought it would be... *shrugs* oh well.**

* * *

Next morning I was the first one to wake, even if I was the one that was out half the night. A sleepy smile reached my beak as memories filled my mind. So what if I lost some hours of sleep? I wouldn't change last night for the world.

I climbed out of the nest and walked to the midsection of our hollow, still rubbing my eyes; that almost got me to run into a wall but I stopped myself in time. I got to the net hanging from the roof and tried to reach it, but I just couldn't without the need to flutter up. Since Nico and I fixed this place the net somehow lost a piece and we were forced to hang it higher. I managed to get out a pair of grapes and started eating one, not bothering to get to the table.

I thought for a second before heading back to my room, deciding that breakfast in bed was the most amazing thing I could do right now. On my way back I had to shield my eyes form the intruding sun. _It must be like eight… so early…_

I was about to take another bite from my grape but froze in place when the fog in my mind cleared enough to take in my surroundings. I furrowed my brows and spun in my heels, a flight feather pointing at the sun patch in the ground. _If it was eight a.m., then that sun patch would be…_ I pointed at the other side of our hollow, right outside Anna's room. _There and not here…_

My eyes widened as the grapes fell from my wing before I ran to the entrance of the hollow. I would have fallen right out if my talons hadn't got a hold of the very edge of the tree, my wings flapping twice to get me back inside. Once I gained my balance I looked outside taking a good look at the sky. The sun was in the right position for it to be eight in the morning… if had been in the other end of the sky.

Right now its four p.m., only a few hours for the competition and the girls are still asleep.

"Anna…" I rushed to my room and shook my sister softly, but when she covered her face with her wings my shakes became stronger "Anna get up!" there was a yawn coming from the ball of yellow feathers before deep blue eyes met mine.

"I want to sleep" with that she rolled to the other side of the nest leaving me with a blank expression. I ran to the other room and started searching in some match boxes for a nut shell we used as a cup.

"Sophie, wake up!" there was a low grunt from the room were the parakeet was sleeping, but I had no time to go and wake her. I really wanted to go over the performance once more before heading to The Branch. "SOPHIE!" the parakeet ran out of the room with a panicked look on her face.

"Where's the fire?"

"There's no fire" I pulled out the nut shell from a box and, without even closing the box again, filled it with some of the water from the shell in the corner, "we overslept"

"What time is it?" panic gone, Sophie yawned and stretched, making her back crack twice.

"Four" I got back to my room and held the cup over my sister's head "Anna I really don't wanna do this, so get up" she grumbled once and threw a stick from the nest at me, which I barely dodged. I raised the cup and tried not to think of the consequences of what I was about to do "don't tell me I didn't warn you" with that said I dropped all the water over her head.

She jumped out of the nest and landed very ungracefully, her eyes wide and her feathers dripping water on the floor "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"I asked you nicely and you didn't want to get up. You left me no choice"

"Oh my God Kalli, my feathers are gonna get all fluffed up!" she left the room in a flash of yellow, probably to get herself dry. I blinked once at how fast she had left and walked outside, where Sophie was calmly eating a strawberry. Anna was drying her feathers with a red rag, glaring daggers at me. I just smiled cutely at her and sat down next to Sophie.

"We only have like… four hours before the actual thing. What do you wanna do till then?"

"I think we should practice everything" Anna grunted from her room "_just once. _And then go to The Branch, I want to see who the judges are" for what Rafael told us there would be four judges, but not just random strangers from the crowd. These birds were dancers and singers, some of them not even from Brazil, and in addition the owner of The Branch himself would be there.

"Okay, then let's g-"

"No one is moving until I'm done with my feathers!" Anna's authoritarian tone made us froze in place. _This will take a while._

* * *

Three and a half hours later we were landing outside of The Branch, and I was never so grateful for it. After days of feeling nothing, now my back was starting to get tired, far too tired for the distance between our hollow and the city. Let's just hope thirty minutes of rest are enough to get back to normal.

We walked inside and were met by the biggest crowd I have ever seen in my life. There was absolutely no space for even one more bird, some of them hanging upside down on the wooden frame that kept the tent that worked as roof in place.

"Let's go backstage!" I somehow managed to scream over the noise. I have no idea how we didn't crash into another bird while we flew, but we got to the stage unharmed. I saw Pedro waving at us and immediately went his way, hoping that backstage wasn't as crowded.

Thank goodness the amount of birds back here isn't as big as out there.

Anna and Pedro shared a quick kiss, neither of them having trouble with public affection, and ignored us for a second or two. And that was more than enough time for Rafael and Nico to show up.

"Girls! You ready for the show?" Rafael looked so excited, but not as half the excitement Nico and Miguel showed in their eyes.

"You bet. And we are so gonna win this thing" Sophie was taking a defying attitude with her brother, who matched her eyes in an instant.

"Oh really?" Nico appeared next to Miguel, but his defiant look was directed at me "and might I ask what do you have going for you besides your good looks?"

"Pure talent" I tilted my chin up "and a few other surprises you'll see once we're on stage"

"We'll see about that bonita" he gave me one of his smirks and I could only grin back.

I noticed a group of birds I didn't knew and nodded their way "Who are those?"

Nico looked behind him and took a few steps backwards coming to stand next to me "They're the judges, and that" he pointed to the tallest bird in the group "is the owner of this place; Joseph"

I looked at them and suddenly felt very nervous. These four birds would make the difference between telling Nico everything he wants to know or not. In five minutes flat Nico told me everything I needed to know about the judges.

Joseph, the owner of The Branch who would also be a judge, was a Spectacled Owl. Nico said he wasn't as serious as he looked and that once you got to know him he was a really nice guy. He also mentioned that he was the one that brought Pedro and him to perform at The Branch when they were younger. Joseph seemed to know we were talking about him and studied me with his eyes, making me turn away.

There was a Frilled Coquette named Jazz who could play any instrument you placed in front of her, and had even managed to play some songs by memory after hearing them just once. She had played at The Branch for a few years, but left after she decided that music wasn't supposed to stay in just one place but be free. Or at least that's what Nico told me. She looked like a laidback kind of bird, some dark orange feathers spiked atop of her head and a relaxed look on her face.

The third judge was Damian, a Hoopoe with an ever present glint in his eyes. This guy was an amazing dancer, one able to leave both Sophie and Miguel in the dust, but that wasn't the interesting thing about him. Apparently Damian used to live in Ireland until a group of poachers caught him when he was seventeen. He ended up in Brazil, now transformed into an adrenaline addict who looked for a rush everywhere. He glanced my way once and gave me a smirk, his crest rising in a playful manner.

And last but certainly not least was Flare, a Blue Jay with what seemed to be a tendency to move from one place to another. Literally, she didn't stop coming and going as Nico talked to me. Nico said he never really met her but for what he heard she had traveled with her family from Canada for a migration route, but after everyone went back home she just kept going south, deciding she wanted to get all the way to Patagonia. She had only been in Rio for three weeks and had already captivated everyone that she knew with her impressive voice. Nico has never heard her, but rumors say she's truly breath taking.

I looked at the four birds intently, nodding every now and then so that Nico knew I was listening to him. These birds together will judge every little detail in our performance from the music choice to our singing and dancing. In my and Nico's case there's a lot at stake in this competition, so making a good impression with these guys is truly important.

"Guys!" Rafael called us from the stage "come on, its time!" Anna materialized by my side along with Sophie. Nico left with a "see you in stage, bonita".

"You ready?"

"Are you kidding me?" we all linked wings as a memory from my first night at The Branch came to my mind "I was born ready!" we reached the stage still laughing, but got a hold of ourselves when all eyes fell on us. The silence was broken by Rafael who was standing in the center of the stage.

"How are we tonight?" there was a round of cheers from the audience, which I calculated to be formed by over three hundred birds "Hope you're ready for the confrontation between the boys" Nico and Pedro shared a fist bump with Miguel as the crowd screamed their names "and the ladies" we bowed softly as loud cheers, and some very loud whistles, were heard.

"Shall we begin?" we gathered around Rafael as the audience stayed as silent as they could, some murmurs here and there "okay, who's going first?"

"Ladies first" Nico bowed with his bottle cap in his wing, signaling for us to take the stage.

"Oh no, we couldn't. You invited us here, you go first"

"I insist"

Seeing that Nico and I would keep this forever, Anna stepped in "Guys? Hello? Competition happening over here?"

"Shouldn't we just flip a coin or something?"

"We don't have a coin" Miguel pointed out.

Nico threw his bottle cap at Rafael, who caught it in his wing "Use this"

"All right, girls choose first. Heads or tails?" he showed each side of the bottle cap, the green side with dark waves was heads and the back side was tails. I looked behind me where Anna and Sophie did a wave movement with their wings.

"Heads"

"Okay. So the first group on stage will be…" he raised his voice so that everyone could hear as he threw the bottle cap in the air. Every single bird followed the metallic object as it spun quickly until it hit the floor. There was a complete and absolute silence as it bounced once before stopping fully.

And what a surprise, it landed with the dark blue waves facing up. We go first.

"The girls!" Anna and Sophie shared a high five and flew to where the band was, telling them each of our songs carefully. No one wants a mistake while performing. All the guys left, but I stopped Nico in mid flight.

"What, no good luck wishes?" my mocking tone earned a grin from him.

"You don't need it" he gave me a wink and left with everyone else into a small crate that somehow had stayed abandoned. I moved to my place, right in the center of the stage, and all by myself. Anna ran and gave me a hug before heading backstage.

"You'll be great"

The lights dimmed and she disappeared backstage along with Sophie. I could feel every pair of eyes on me and right in the corner of my eyes I could see the judges looking at me too. Rafael had told me they hadn't use judges before, but choosing the winner was a complete disaster, so Joseph came up with the idea.

_Relax, take deep breaths_. I was beyond scared right now. I wouldn't be this nervous with any other song, but we had to choose one with good lyrics. That left us with a slow song where I can't dance and no one can help me. It's just me, standing in the same spot through the whole song, all the while trying not to faint.

"_You just need to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and feel the whole thing in here" _Nico's voice rang through my head and immediately did what I was told, even if he was halfway across the club. Music started out in the background and every light in The Branch died out except for the spotlight kept on me.

I started singing softly, my eyes still closed.

"_Sweet love, sweet love, trapped in your love__. __I've opened up, unsure I can trust" _I placed my wings in my chest, still too nervous to do more _"My heart and I were buried in dust__. __Free me, free us" _I opened my eyes and met the ones of the crowd. It took all my strength to keep a look that went along with the song.

"_You're all I need when I'm holding you tight, If you walk away I will suffer tonight"_ I looked away from the crowd in the last note, remembering what Anna had said about using my 'acting skills' during this song. Not sure what that meant, but I have to at least try.

"_I found a man I can trust and boy, I believe in us__. __I am terrified to love for the first time__. __Can you see that I'm bound in chains?__I've finally found my way"_ I got as much emotion as I could into my voice, the outcome surprising even me. I glanced at the judges for a split second to see their reactions.

"_I am bound to you__. __I am bound to you" _I had to keep my smile from coming when I saw they looked quite pleased, especially Flare.

"_So much, so young, I've faced on my own__. __Walls I built up became my home" _I realized that my voice wasn't the only one in the song, but didn't really know who else was singing _"__I'm strong and I'm sure there's a fire in us__. __Sweet love, so pure" _in the last note I identified Anna and Sophie and silently thanked them for helping me with the backup.

"_I catch my breath with just one beating heart__. __And I embrace myself, please don't tear this apart" _I hugged myself and looked straight at the audience, which was completely silent.

"_I found a man I can trust and boy, I believe in us__. __I am terrified to love for the first time__. __Can you see that I'm bound in chains?__I've finally found my way"_I looked at were Pedro and the others were sitting, but the only thing I caught were Nico's eyes. He was giving me the same look that I couldn't quite place last night, but this time, it managed to send chills down my spine.

"_I am bound to you__. __I am bound to"_I took my eyes off Nico and looked back at the crowd _"__Suddenly the moment's here, I embrace my fears__, __All that I have been carrying all these years__. __Do I risk it all? Come this far just to fall? Fall"_ I held the last note the best that I could, remembering how much we had had to practice it. Thankfully it came out just perfect.

"_I can trust, and boy, I believe in us__. __I am terrified to love for the first time__. __Can you see that I'm bound in chains?__And finally found my way"_I tried to give as much emotion as I could with both my eyes and voice for the end.

"_I am bound to you__. __I am, ooh I am__, __I'm bound to you" _I closed my eyes as my voice became softer and softer until we reached the last note. I held it as long as I could until the music stopped and the lights went out. I catch my breath as the crowd cheers madly, just before I get tackled to the ground.

"Oh my God Kalli that was great!"

"Thanks. Nice touch with the backups"

We all smiled at each other until we heard that the music for the next song was starting. We ran to our places, Anna in the edge of the stage, me to her right but a little far behind and Sophie to my right and almost against the board that makes the back of the stage.

Once the other instruments joined the guitar, colorful lights flashed on the stage, showing three dark figures clapping along with the beat. Soon enough everyone was clapping along.

"_Wooh, ooh ooh ohh"_a few seconds later a spotlight fell on each of us with the respective color of our anklets. I had the biggest smile ever when I started singing.

"_Stole a key.__Took a car downtown where the lost boys meet,__Took a car downtown and took what they offered me" _I spun in place a few times with my wing in the air _"To set me free. I saw the lights go down at the end of the scene,__I saw the lights go down and they're standing in front of me"_ I stopped abruptly and the three of us took up in the air, each of us looking for a new place in the stage to land.

"_Wooh, ooh ooh ooh"_Anna and Sophie landed on crates on different sides of the stage. I was about to land of the highest crate but took a chance and landed on the green glass bottle that was next to it, my talons digging in the glass to keep me balanced.

"_And my scarecrow dreams,__When they smashed my heart into smithereens,__Be a bright red rose come bursting the concrete"_ Anna and Sophie sang the next part with me, and by the second line everyone at The Branch was singing with us.

"_Be a cartoon heart. Light a fire, a fire, a spark__. __Light a fire, a flame in my heart.__We'll run wild,__We'll be glowing in the dark"_I spun once and let my talons slip, falling back wards for a second. I noticed my eyes were closed, and reopened them as I turned around and opened my wings, flying over the crowd with Sophie and Anna right behind me.

"_Wooh, ooh ooh ooh"_we landed on the crate where the guys were sitting at, Anna falling in Pedro's wings, Sophie getting Miguel in a dead grip under her wing and me sitting right next to Nico. Surprising enough, all six of us sang the next line together; even if they are competing against us _"__We'll be glowing in the dark"_

I'll have to remember to repay them. I tried to take Nico's bottle cap off his head, not even bothering to hide my intentions, but he saw it coming and grabbed my wing. He pulled me closer to him and I practically fell on his chest. He just gave me a smirk which I matched quickly, hiding my partial blush, before taking off back to the stage, Anna and Sophie leading the way.

"_All the boys, all the girls,__All that matters in the world__. __All the boys, all the girls,__All the madness that occurs" _I glided right next to the judges, Jazz and Flare giving me smiles and Damian giving me a smirk I thought only Nico was able to pull off _"All the highs, all the lows,__As the room is spinning goes__. __We'll run riot. We'll be glowing in the dark" _the music started to become slower, so we took our time to reach the stage, doing some flips and body rolls as we flew close to the audience.

Finally the rhythm picked up speed and we approached the stage _"Wooh, ooh ooh ooh__"_ I landed right in the middle of the stage, Anna and Sophie in different opposites _"__So we soar luminous and wired__. __We'll be glowing in the dark" _we walked back to the places where we started this song, music and lights fading out just as we reached them. The Branch was left in the dark, only the loud cheers, screams and claps from the crowd could be heard.

"You okay?" Anna called at us from where she was. Sophie looked good to go but I took my time to check myself. I was still catching my breath and my wings were a little tired, but it was my back what worried me. I stretched in various directions, testing where the limit was. Thankfully those thirty minutes proved to have been enough since my back didn't hurt at all.

I gave Anna a nod as the music started playing and we all got in the position we had practiced. This choreography had to be perfect, but with Sophie as our mentor, there was no way we could lose on the Dancing category.

With Sophie in the front and ready to have her big moment, the light came on and I started singing, Anna and I doing our best to keep up with the routine Sophie had taught us.

"_Doctor doctor, need you back home, baby__. __Doctor Doctor, where you at? Give me somethin'__. __I need your love, I need your love, I need your lovin'__. __You got that kind of medicine that keep me comin'" _we all tried our best to keep a 'fierce' appearance, as Anna had told us in rehearsal, but it was proving hard not to smile. We managed though.

"_My body needs a hero, come and save me__. __Somethin' tells me you know how to save me__. __I've been feelin' weird Oh!__Oh, I need you, to come and rescue me"_Anna and I slid away from Sophie, getting ready for the chorus.

"_Oooooooh!" _we swung our hips twice before the chorus started, my mind trying not to forget any step.

"_Make me come alive__, __Come on and turn me on__. __Touch me save my life__, __Come on and turn me on__. __I'm too young to die__, __Come on and turn me on__, __Turn me on, Turn me on__, __Turn me on, Turn me on" _we all had to raise our voices to sing, half of the audience cheering and the other half singing along.

"_Make me come alive__, __Come on and turn me on__. __Touch me save my life__, __Come on and turn me on__. __I'm too young to die__, __Come on and turn me on__, __Turn me on, Turn me on__, __Turn me on, Turn me on" _

I glanced over at the judges when I had the chance. Joseph and Flare were telling something to each other without taking their eyes off of us, while Jazz bobbed her head along with the music. Damian looked like he would jump down to the stage any second now.

"_Oh you make it, make it right. My temperature is super high. If I scream, if I cry, It's only 'cuz I feel alive" _Anna and I started clapping, getting everyone else to do the same while Sophie kept on with the routine. How doesn't she get tired?

"_My body needs a hero, come and save me__. __Somethin' tells me you know how to save me__. __I've been feeling weird Oh!__Oh, I need you, to come and rescue me. __Oooooooh!" _Sophie jumped backwards to get to the same level as us, the three in perfect sync as we took on with some fast dance moves.

"_Make me come alive__, __Come on turn me on__. __Touch me, save my life__, __Come on and turn me on__. __I'm too young to die__, __Come on and turn me on__, __Turn me on, Turn me on__, __Turn me on, Turn me on" _Anna and I jumped out of the way for Sophie to have her solo moment in the routine. Every time she pulled out a stunt the crowd would scream and whistle.

"_Make me come alive__, __Come on turn me on__. __Touch me, save my life__, __Come on and turn me on__. __I'm too young to die__, __Come on and turn me on__, __Turn me on, Turn me on__, __Turn me on, Turn me on" _the rhythm of the routine slowed down a bit for the next part, Anna and I singing together.

"_You've got my life in the palm of your hands__(palm of your hands)__. __Come and save me now, I know you can (I know you can)" _all eyes fell on Sophie when she started singing the next part. I could see Miguel's eyes widening to the size of plates and Pedro's beak falling open in a way that made me smirk. Even Nico looked surprised.

"_Oh! Oh! Dat dat dat dat don't let me die young, I just want you to father my young. I just want you to be my doctor. We could get it crackin' chiropractor. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I" _the parakeet gave the audience a proud smirk.

"_I know you can save me__, __And make me feel alive" _I took out the last note before we took in the chorus together, the routine getting back even stronger than before.

"_Make me come alive__, __Come on and turn me on__. __Touch me save my life__, __Come on and turn me on__. __I'm too young to die__, __Come on and turn me on, turn me on, Turn me on, turn me on" _all 'fierce' attitude left behind, none of us could stop smiling as we finished our last number.

The Branch erupted with a mix of cheers, screams and whistles and we just stood on stage catching our breaths. Anna hugged me from behind and we immediately started laughing, to happy to care about anything else. We bowed to the audience and were met with even more cheers, making my smile grow. We also gave a bow to the judges before heading backstage, the four of them looking more than pleased but Jazz and Damian looking beyond amazed.

I hadn't even taken three steps backstage when my body decided the floor looked comfortable enough and my legs gave in, my whole body collapsing in pure and utter fatigue. I landed between Anna and Sophie who were panting and laughing at the same time.

"Oh… My… God"

"I know…" Sophie chuckled once, not enough air in her lungs to do it again. I guess she was tired after all, but no one can blame her.

"Sophie, since when can you…" Miguel's question died as he looked for us, finally locating us in the floor "are you okay?"

"Never better" Sophie shook her head when her brother offered his help to get her up, deciding that she was better lying in the floor. I ran a wing through my feathers and pushed my bangs out of the way, suddenly feeling like they were taking part of the oxygen I needed away from me.

"Need some help there?" Nico gave me one of his smirks, which looked funny since he was standing over my head, making him look upside down. I nodded once, still trying to catch my breath and not wanting to waste it. He repositioned himself and offered me his wing, which I used all my energy to take.

"Come on bonita" he pulled me up in a swift movement, keeping his balance as I practically crashed against him "I know you're tired, but it'll be worth it"

We got down for the stage and somehow managed to get through the sea of birds that we encountered.

"What did you think?"

"It was good" he shot me a glance and added "Alright, it was _really_ good"

"Thanks. Might I ask what was good about it?"

"Everything was perfect" Nico stopped walking and grabbed my wing, making me turn slightly to face him "just like you" I turned around, hiding my blush but not my smile, and pulled him along with me by his wing.

We got to the crate the guys had been sitting at and Anna pulled me up with Sophie's help. They got there before Nico and me since they still have the strength to fly. I, on the other hand, am too beat up to even think about flying.

Pedro and Miguel were already talking to the band as I looked for a place to sit and watch the boy's performance. Nico fluttered up and got on eye level with me.

"I think it's best if you sit" he grabbed my wing and pulled me down gently. I sat right on the edge, next to my sister. Nico gave me one of his smirks, pure excitement flashing in his eyes "wouldn't want to knock you off your feet" he winked and left before I could even think of an answer. I smiled after him, not really knowing if I should shook my head or roll my eyes. In the end I did none, just following the other canary with my eyes as he got to the stage.

Now it's time to see if they're still worthy of the title of best performers in Rio, or if they just got beat by us. The later made me smirk in pure confidence.

Let's hope the feeling lasts.

* * *

**Hello people! I think it took a little while longer than expected to finish this, to which I apologize. **

**What did you think of the girl's performance? did you like it? hate it? loved it?**

**Songs I used (I don't own any of them)(If you don't know them, listen to them. They are awesome songs):**

**Bound To You by Christina Aguilera.**

**Charlie Brown by Coldplay.**

**Turn Me On by David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj**

**Now on to the reviews:**

**EmmerzK: Sooo glad you like last chapter, 'cause I was so worried it would be a total disaster. Right now I'm trying to decide who will win the competition, and what story we'll hear; which one do you prefer? And yes, it is more organized :D**

**ILOVENICO1000X: I just can't get the sweetness out of him. I know right? they should just tell each other what they feel... but that wouldn't be very romantic, would it? XD Hope you liked the songs!**

**Niah09: Well, I'm not going to argue that, but you should totally visit. I think it's worth it. Oh I'm not that cruel... well, I am but I really wanted a romantic moment X3. I used one of the lines you gave me, it was so cool I just had to. thanks for review! :D**

**Also a HUGE thanks to emosmile and to NinjaMonkeyGirl2012 for adding this to their faves. **

**Don't own: Rio (Blue Sky Studios) or any of the songs. Own: Kalli, Anna, Sophie, Miguel, Luca, Maia, Bruno, Isabel and all the judges (Damian, Jazz, Joseph and Flare) TOO MANY OCs!**


	13. Competition Part 2

**Sorry for not updating, I had the worst author's block in the world. But here it is, chapter 13!**

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Not a minute had passed since we sat down, and Anna was already two steps away from a panic attack.

"…Joseph doesn't just bring anyone to perform here, and they're called best performers in all of Rio for a reason, and-"

"Stop!" I looked at her in the eye, trying my best to give her a calm look despite the fact that my fears were almost the same as hers "We'll be fine"

"But what if they win?" She fixed her gaze in her anklet "I really don't want to lose my bet with Pedro…"

"That bad?"

"No… I just don't want to lose" It took all my will power not to give her a blank stare.

"I don't want to lose my bet with Nico either… but we'll just have to see"

"Oh no, no, no!" Sophie had a wing in her hip, anger and some panic flashing in her eyes "I don't know what you bet with your respective love birds, but I am _not _losing against Miguel. I just can't" she added the last part at my raised brow.

"C'mon, it can't be that bad…"

"It is…" she grabbed my shoulders and got her face as close to mine as she could "It will be the death of me…"

Any response I could have given was crushed by the cheers of the crowd as the lights dimmed. Sophie sat down, her wing still in my shoulder, and looked at the darkened stage. My mind was in overdrive trying to figure out what song the guys chose for best lyrics, but every option was immediately crossed. I just couldn't think of anything that would fit the category and their music tastes. I wondered if their dynamic would be the same as ours, but that depended heavily on their song choice.

I fidgeted on my seat, my wing finding Anna's and giving it a squeeze, which she returned.

Music started the loud cheers and claps blocking it for a second. Then that second was over and my heart fell into my stomach, finally able to recognize what song they were using.

_You're screwed._

I had to stop myself from actually snapping back at my inner self, settling with a glare directed in no special direction. God I hate it when these voices are right…

Nico appeared on the highest crate on stage, the light projector illuminating everything, and started marking the rhythm of the song with his bottle cap. He had a small smile when he started singing.

"_I'm not a perfect person__, __There's many things I wish I didn't do__. __But I continue learning"_ he stopped tapping his cap, just holding it in his wings while looking down _"I never meant to do those things to you__. __And so I have to say before I go__, __That I just want you to know" _bottle cap back in place, he took on the chorus, that voice that only he has making me blink a few times.

"_I've found a reason for me__, __To change who I used to be" _I started looking for whoever was helping him with the back up the moment I heard them, but only saw the band playing _"A reason to start over new__; __And the reason is you"_ I realized that two members of the band were doing part of the backup singing, but Pedro hiding behind the instruments was unmistakable.

"_I'm sorry that I hurt you__, __It's something I must live with every day__. __And all the pain I put you through" _Nico looked over at the audience with an apologetic and almost desperate look, using his acting skills just like I did. But he looked so honest it was almost heart breaking _"__I wish that I could take it all away__, __And be the one who catches all your tears__. __That's why I need you to hear"_

"_I've found a reason for me__, __To change who I used to be"_he looked over at the judges, an intense look flashing in his eyes _"__A reason to start over new__; __And the reason is you" _Flare and Jazz had smiles in their beaks, the former a little bigger than the latter. Joseph still looked serious and Damian simply raised his brows. I had to swallow twice loudly, just to get my eyes back on stage.

"_And the reason is you__. __And the reason is you__. __And the reason is you" _Nico carried out every note perfectly, sliding down a board into a lower crate on the very last, and longest note. Everything slowed down for a moment, the singer just looking at the audience from where he was.

"_I'm not a perfect person__; __I never meant to do those things to you" _his eyes fixed in our direction, and just for a second, I could have sworn they were on me _"And so I have to say before I go__. __That I just want you to know" _a smile broke into his beak and suddenly I realized he had reached the main part of the stage in just a few seconds.

"_I've found a reason for me__, __To change who I used to be" _He started tapping his bottle cap again _"A reason to start over new__; __And the reason is you. I've found a reason to show __A side of me you didn't know__, __A reason for all that I do" _he closed his eyes and pressed his bottle cap against his chest, a smile fully visible in his face _"And the reason is you"_

The crowd erupted with cheers and whistles, one of which escaped my beak before I could stop it. Sophie look like she was about to lunge at me, but pulled herself together and clapped once at the canary on stage. Nico bowed, bottle cap still on his wing, and Pedro and Miguel appeared on stage. They sat on the edge of a crate, Nico between Pedro and Miguel. They let the crowd finish before starting with their next song.

It was obvious that both Nico and Pedro would take part on the Singing category, but maybe we still have a chance against them.

Nico started whistling along with Miguel, music starting in the back, and Pedro started singing.

"_Oh, I gotta find my way back__. __Back to summer paradise__"_

Then Nico followed suit into singing his part _"__My heart is sinking__, __As I'm lifting up __Above the clouds away from you" _Pedro and Miguel supported the canary's feet, lifting him in a swift motion. Nico took some impulse, doing a body roll as he almost touched the ceiling _"__And I can't believe I'm leaving__. __Oh I don't kno-kno-know what I'm gonna do" _he let himself fall for a moment, but snapped back when him bottle cap started getting away from him.

"_But someday__, __I will find my way back __To where your name __Is written in the sand__" _Pedro and Miguel stayed in the crate they were at while Nico landed on stage, the three of them taking into the chorus. I could distinguish Miguel's voice from the other two, but not as much as I would have wanted to. Guess I'll have to hear how he sings another time.

"_Cause I remember every sunset__, __I remember every word you said__. __We were never gonna say goodbye__, __Singin' la-ta-ta-ta-ta. Tell me how to get back to__, __Back to summer paradise with you__, __And I'll be there in a heartbeat__" _Pedro got the backup, his voice and Nico's in perfect contrast _"(Quick time, quick time girl) __Oh-oh__, __I'll be there in a heartbeat__(Quick time, quick time girl) __Oh-oh__(Tell 'em)__"_

Nico gave the judges –more like Flare- a charming smile before singing the next part, his faithful bottle cap being used again to mark the rhythm _"__My soul is broken__, __Streets are frozen__, __I can't stop these feelings melting through__. __And I'd give away a thousand days, oh__, __Just to have another one with you__" _I furrowed my brows for a second, my beak pulling into a frown. That second was enough for my eyes to start narrowing at the blue jay, but I caught myself in time. What was that?

"_(Baby girl) Well, real life can wait (it can wait) We're crashing like waves __(yeah)" _I shook my head not really wanting to hear what my inner self had to hear about my sudden anger at the judge _"__We're playin' in the sand (Me and you girl) Holding your hand, yeah, yeah __(make some noise)"_

The three of them got to the crate were they started the song, the biggest grin ever in every single one of their faces.

"_'Cause I remember every sunset (I remember) I remember every words you said, We were never gonna say goodbye, __Singin' la-ta-ta-ta-ta. Tell me how to get back to, Back to summer paradise with you (yeah)" _Pedro shot my sister a wink, much to her amusement. That actually got a small smile out of me _"And I'll be there in a heartbeat, (quick time, quick time girl) oh, oh I'll be there in a heartbeat, (quick time, quick time girl) oh, oh"_

Next, Pedro had his moment, birds cheering and screaming his name.

"_the promises that we made, to about our friends, thinking about it sunshine under trees. Summer time on the beach, oh fine we get closer, under them trees" _Pedro pulled out some dance moves (if they can be called that) while singing. The cardinal was the epitome of performing on a stage _"baby girl, you really got to me. it´s 3 o'clock, and we're together and the time doesn't leave in a heartbeat girl, sex on the beach. Don't stand your world, ask me I'm rich, loving you girl, is the best part of me"_

Nico slid past Pedro and stood in the center of the crate, the light projector shooting a ray his way _"Someday, I will find my way back to where your name, is written in the sand" _he jumped down, holding his cap in his head, and landed in sync with the others _"Bring it back, Bring it back (Rewind) 'cause I remember every sunset (I remember) I remember every word you said, we were never gonna say goodbye (No way) __Singing La ta-ta-ta-ta" _

Nico shot a smile my way before taking his bottle cap off his head _"__Tell me how to get back to, back to summer paradise with you. __Yeah, and I'll be there in a heartbeat" _And then he threw it my way, the cap going smoothly through the air, no matter how many birds tried to catch it. It finally came close enough for me to catch it in my wings, not really knowing what to do with it.

I placed it in my head instead of throwing it back at him, a defiant smirk in my beak. He was standing next to me in an instant, extending his wing at my head… _"__I remember where we first kissed (I remember) __And how I didn't wanna leave your lips" _and then grabbed my wing and pulled me up. He made me spin a couple of times, a soft giggle forming in my throat.

"_And how I never ever felt so high __(So high)" _he grabbed my waist and dipped me, his other wing holding mine. He gave me one of his smirks which I matched without missing the chance. Somewhere in the back of my head I registered that we were dancing and that Anna had an amused look on her face _"__Singing La ta-ta-ta-ta. __So tell me how to get back to, __back to summer paradise with you (yeah)" _

Nico spun me one last time, one of his wings wrapped around my middle, and pulled me until my back was on his chest _"__And I'll be there in a heartbeat" _he pecked my cheek and the next second he was gone. I hadn't even realized he took away his bottle cap until I saw it in his head. I half smiled through my light blush; I guess I don't owe him for singing with us anymore.

"_(Quick time, quick time girl) oh, oh, And I'll be there in a heartbeat, (Quick time, quick time girl)" _Pedro shared a fist bump with Nico as the canary landed on stage, just a few moments away from finishing the song _"Summer Paradise Baby. I'll be there in a heartbeat __(YEAH)" _

The screams from the crowd were so loud, I wouldn't be surprised if our neighbors were able to hear them all the way back in the jungle. I clapped a little more than just politely along with Anna, Sophie still being too stubborn to show support to Miguel in case we lost.

The light projector dimmed the lights to the point that it was hard to see Anna in the dark, and she was sitting next to me. I squinted, noticing movement on stage, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't see what was happening.

I was focusing on the stage so much, that I was momentarily blinded when the lights came back on, full power along with the music. I rubbed my eyes, still unable to see when Nico started singing.

"_Turn up the music, cause this song just came on, Turn up the music, if they try to turn us down. Turn up the music, can I hear it till the speakers blow, Turn up the music, fill your cup and drink it down" _Once the yellow blur I was seeing turned into Nico I watched the performance, still rubbing my right eye softly.

"_If you sexy and you know it, put your hands up in the air, Put your hands up in the air, girl, put your hands up. If you sexy and you know it, put your hands up in the air, Put your hands up in the air, girl, put your hands up" _Pedro and Nico raised their wings in the air, a smug look in the cardinal's face. Needless to say, every single girl present raised their wings, Anna and Sophie included.

Miguel took the front of the stage, Nico and Pedro right behind him, and started dancing _"__Turn up the music, just turn it up louder. Turn up the music, I need it in my life, yeah. Turn up the music, just turn it up louder. Turn up the music, I need it in my life, yeah__" _Some moves were clearly influenced by Pedro, that kind of body language can only come from him.

"_Oh, oh, oh, oh, Turn up the music. Oh, oh, oh, oh, Turn up the music, Turn up the music, Tu-turn up the...__" _Right now the hip hop routine was fast, every movement perfectly performed by the three birds on stage. And my worry kept growing with every second that passed.

I shot a glance at the judges and tried to figure out each of them _"__Turn up the music cause the sun just came up, Turn up the music, if they try to turn us down. Turn up the music, cause I'm trying to hear the speakers blow. Turn up the music, fill your cup and drink it down" _Joseph was looking at the stage with an intense gaze, his eyes not leaving the performers for a second. Flare and Jazz were in the middle of what looked like a very interesting conversation, and Damian was looking at Miguel with a smirk on his beak, admiration in his eyes.

"_If you sexy and you know it, put your hands up in the air, Put your hands up in the air girl, put your hands up. If you sexy and you know it, put your hands up in the air, Put your hands up in the air, girl, put your hands up" _This time even some guys raised their wings, and I raised a single wing along with Anna, the two of us laughing. The guys stepped in the very edge of the stage, dozens of wings reaching out to grab them.

"_And Turn up the music, just turn it up louder. Turn up the music, I need it in my life, yeah. Turn up the music, just turn it up louder. Turn up the music, I need it in my life, yeah" _Just then I realized two things: the first, that the guys had the advantage of having performed here tons of times, there for, the audience knew them and loved them. The second was that there was something… strange in the choreography that I couldn't quite point out.

"_Oh, oh, oh, __oh, Turn__ up the music. Oh, oh, oh, oh, Save my life, all I wanna do __is party. __So DJ turn it up__" _there was something in the dance moves… there, just when Nico spun, there was something in the way he moved that just seemed different _"__Girl, dance with me, just dance with me. Girl can I see that, I really wanna touch that. Baby can I feel that (don't stop the)"_ Nico spun again and it hit me. They were samba steps in the routine as well. They were barely noticeable, more adapted to look like hip hop steps, and just a few every now and then, but it was clear that they were samba moves.

Both my brows rose at my new discovery. The whole thing was a mix between hip hop, samba, and whatever Pedro got in, but everything blended just perfectly, resulting in a smooth dance routine.

I must say, even if it's not aloud, that I'm impressed.

"_Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me)" _They took off in the air, flying so close to the audience that if someone wanted to snatch them they could have done it _"Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me)" _

They landed right in the middle of the crowd, the birds down there taking a few steps back to make space for the performers _"Turn it up. Turn up the music, just turn it up louder. Turn up the music, I need it in my life, yeah. Turn up the music, just turn it up louder. Turn up the music, I need it in my life, yeah__" _a spotlight landed on each of them, the coordination spotless.

"_Reggae. Oh, oh, oh, oh, Can you turn it up, girl. Oh, oh, oh, oh, Can you turn it up, baby__" _they started improvising, each of them getting into their comfort zone and pulling off stunt that made it hard to choose just one of them to watch _"__Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me)__" _as amazing as Miguel was (and trust me, he was) my eyes landed on Nico. Leave it to him to get samba moves to fit the song.

"_Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up (just dance with me) Turn it up. Turn up the music__" _the spotlight on each of them turned off, and when they came back on the three birds were gone. There was a moment of silence where everyone from the crowd to the judges looked for the missing birds, but when they appeared on stage, The Branch came alive with loud cheers and whistles.

I clapped eagerly myself, a fit of laughter coming from my chest and soon escaping my beak. I ran a wing through my feathers as my eyes widened and my laughter became more evident. Anna gave me a look as Pedro and the others went back stage, but I only shook my head.

I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that we stood no chance against the guys, and that Nico knowing the whole truth was just around the corner.

And even worse, if they win is because they totally deserve it.

* * *

"Ugh, why are they taking so long…" Sophie paced from one place to the other, her head in her wings. We had been waiting for the judges to make their decision for almost twenty minutes, and by now everyone was anxious. I was just lying on my back in the rooftop where we were waiting, looking up at the sky without saying a word. The night sky was filled with clouds, only a few stars visible.

"Yeah, like if it was so hard to choose a winner"

"Who do you think won?"

"Well… what do you think?" Anna obviously didn't know who won but didn't want to show that she was just as nervous as the rest of us.

"We totally beat them in dancing" Sophie's tone left no room for argument, not that anyone could argue with the dancer.

"Yeah… but I think they won on best lyrics"

"No way, Kalli was perfect"

"Their song was better" my voice rang out for the first time since we left the club, two pairs of eyes landing on me. I didn't say anything else, so they continued their conversation.

"Okay, so they won best lyrics, and we won dancing. What 'bout singing?"

We all stayed silent and thought the question for a while. Our performance during that song had been even better than we expected, but competing against Pedro and Nico was a though bet. I closed my eyes, not really wanting to think of bets at the moment. Apparently the girls were having the same problem I was, none of us capable of even guessing who had won on that last category.

He heard a small commotion going on down, and when I opened my eyes I saw Anna peeking over the edge of the roof. The few birds that got out for air were heading back inside, a few murmurs loud enough for us to hear. They were about to announce the winner.

"Finally" Sophie jumped off the edge and glided all the way to the entrance, going through the entrance in an elegant body roll. We got inside right after, some eyes landing on us as we got to the stage with the other group, the judges and Rafael.

My eyes locked with Nico´s for a second, and immediately a smirk formed in our beaks. I landed next to him, my eyes looking straight forward and my smirk growing.

"Someone's looking confident" Nico's teasing tone only made my smirk grow.

"Look who's talking" I snapped back playfully.

"Aww, c'mon bonita, don't be like that. You were good" something in the way he said 'you' made me think he wasn't talking of all the girls "we were just a little better"

"Who's overconfident now?" I raised my bow at him, but he just shrugged. Just as Rafael started getting everyone's attention Nico inched closer to me.

"Don't worry" he gave me a wink "I'll make sure not to be hard on you when I ask my questions" before I could even think of an answer, Rafael started talking aloud, getting everyone to be quiet.

"All right. We just witnessed the best each team had to offer, and now we get to hear the results" my heart pounded in my chest as the crowd cheered. Not really knowing where to place my eyes, I looked at the judges. I noticed Damian looking my way and. At first I thought he was looking at me, but then I saw the way his eyes were aimed a little higher, as if looking at something behind me. I followed his eyes and almost fell over. Anna and Sophie were behind me, looking at the audience.

I looked between them and Damian a few times, my eyes widening with every movement of my head. Was Damian looking at Sophie? I took a step to my left, the movement capturing both Sophie's and Damian's attention. Their eyes fell on me before landing on each other. The Hoopoe gave Sophie a smile, a playful glint present in his eyes, earning a smile from the parakeet.

"Okay ladies and gentleman, we have a winner!" I hadn't even realized that Rafael was still talking, but that sentence got me back to the situation at wing. Everything around me looked like it was on slow motion, and the sounds started fading. It was like listening everything from inside a glass bottle, or from under water.

I closed my eyes and gripped Anna's wing that at some point find its way to mine.

"And the winner of the singing and dancing competition is…"

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**Cliff hanger! *dramatic music* hehehe, I just had to do it :)**

**Important thing guys, I'm going away for vacations for a week, so at least for a week I won't be able to write/update anything. Just wait for me okay? That'd be awesome :)**

**Review Time!:**

**ILOVENICO1000X: hehehe, between you and me, it was my favorite too, 'cause I LOVE that Coldplay song with all my heart. I just can't get the sweetness out of him, can I? XD. Well now you can compare both performances and choose which one you like (since I left the whole thing in suspense). Dear God, I just hope you didn't explode in the last couple of days (and that I'm responsible) XD.**

**EmmerzK: I know, everything's changing in here. I hadn't realize that, but now I do :D. You have to listen to them (if you haven't already). Oh, I have the whole thing planned, and we will see a lot of Luca in the next few chapters. A whole new side of Luca. **

**Niah09: I love her too, she has an amazing voice! And you're right I listened to her, and she is amazing. I'm glad you liked Damian, 'cause I have some plans for him in the future (what do you think?). I just loved that line, I HAD to use it somewhere. Well she didn't sing to repay them, but she danced (I've been wanting a small dance scene since I started writing this thing). OMG I have 12 OC! There too many for me, but I have seen some stories with far more. Still, they fill like tons to me XD. **

**Big thanks to ToxicLove7 for adding this to his/her (again, not sure) faves list.**

**So guys, Damian and Sophie. What do you think? Too much? **

**Songs used in this chapter:**

**The Reason by Hoobastank (I LOVE THIS SONG! and the video is so freaking AWESOME!)**

**Summer Paradise by Simple Plan ft. Sean Paul**

**Turn Up The Music by Chris Brown**

**Don't own: Rio (Blue Sky Studios) or any of the songs. Own: Kalli, Anna, Sophie, Miguel, Luca, Bruno, Maia, Isabel, Damian, Joseph, Jazz and Flare.**

**SIDE NOTE: guys um, would any of you be interested in reading an Inception fanfic, in the case that I wrote one? Just wondering, it has nothong to do with this story, so I'll just shut up now. See you next week guys!**


	14. The Waterfall And The Coward

**Guess who's back! Me! (well duh, who else? XD) I have so much in my mind right now guys, it's a miracle my head didn't explode while I wrote this chapter. Speaking of which, I'm not so happy about this particular chapter, I don't know why (let's just hope you don't share my thoughts). So, with nothing better to say, I give you the longest filler in the history of fanfiction (yup. a filler (well at least I think so))**

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My heart pounded in my chest, everything still in slow motion around me. Rafael seemed to build more and more suspense with each passing moment, his eyes going between the audience and us without saying a word. I had tried to keep my eyes closed, but I was too anxious to even accomplish that small task.

Nico seemed calm, but a closer look at him showed that he was just as nervous as the rest of us, his breathing faster than normal and his bottle cap going between his wings. Pedro's eyes were wide and his entire body leaned forward as he waited for the winner to be announced; if Rafael doesn't hurry the cardinal will fall on his face any moment now. Miguel and Sophie looked like they would jump off the stage, either to chase one another or to run away from their respective bets in case they lost. Anna and I were holding wings trying to find some comfort in each other.

I was trying hard to keep my face neutral but I knew I was failing miserably, probably looking like a deer in headlights. Rafael took a deep breath, getting my own breath to hitch in my throat. He opened his beak and my heart started racing even faster than before. I got a feeling in my stomach that I only thought was possible during free fall, my eyes clamming shut for the second time now.

I held my breath as Rafael started talking…

And then felt my heart fall into my stomach as he announced the winners.

Pedro's victory cry could have been heard all the way to the jungle, but it somehow went mute in my ears. I looked at my green anklet, not really knowing where else to look at the moment. In less than a second I looked at the judges, the audience, Nico and even Rafael, hoping to find something that told me I misheard, but one look at Anna was enough.

She gave me a small smile and a shrug, holding my wing a little harder. Not knowing what to tell her I smiled back sadly, my heart still in the depths of my own body.

I looked at the guys, and the sight in front of me was just priceless. Nico and Pedro were beaming at the audience, the later pumping his fist in the air. Nico gave the audience an elegant bow, earning a huge round of claps. But the most amusing of it all was Miguel, who was giving his sister a smug smile. Add the narrowed eyes and the wiggling eyebrows and Sophie's panicked face and you have the funniest scene you have ever seen.

"Oh Sophie~" Miguel's singing voice could be heard over the roar of the crowd, earning everyone's attention. Sophie backed away from her brother getting his smile to turn into a smirk "Come on sis, time to pay"

"No"

"Sorry sis there's no backing away now"

Sophie stared at her brother for a moment, neither of them moving, and then jumped off the stage, dashing for the nearest exit faster than any one thought possible. Miguel froze for a second, not even his expression changing until Sophie's escape registered in his mind.

"Sophie!" Miguel chased his sister out of The Branch, a flash of green the last thing we saw of both parakeets "get back here!"

I shook my head at the sight. Under other circumstances I would have laughed, but I seemed unable to do so at the time. The weight of my own bet started to sink in me, making me glance at Nico more than once; I was met with one of his smirks every single time. I swallowed hard, trying not to over think the whole thing, but to no avail. My mind was in overdrive just thinking of what Nico could discover with his questions.

Part of me wanted to run like Sophie had, and the other part wanted me to lie to Nico. But I couldn't do either, my body too tired to even think of running for it, and not having the ability to make up something believable enough to cover myself from whatever he might ask.

"Hey" I felt someone tapping my shoulder and turned around to find no other than Jazz "I just wanted to say that your performance was amazing" the hummingbird offered me her wing, which I shook lightly.

"Thanks" I looked behind me and saw Pedro sharing fist bumps with random birds from the audience "Not amazing enough to beat them I guess"

"Hey, you _were_ going against veterans" I smiled at the reference, deciding that the title fitted them "But there's always next year, and with your talent you're bound to beat them"

I smiled at her, trying hard not to think of the fact that I was probably not competing next year. I scanned the audience casually, but thankfully I didn't see anyone matching Luca's description. At this point I know he'll keep his promise and give me an entire week, which leaves me with… it took all my will power not to show fear as I realized I only had tomorrow left.

"Jazz, did you see where…" we turned to see Damian looking at us. He looked surprised, like he had just realized that Jazz wasn't alone, but recovered quickly "Hello. Jazz, you didn't tell me you knew the star of the night" the Hoopoe crossed his wings over his chest, his crown feathers rising for a second as he shifted his weight from of foot to the other.

I raised my brow slightly, still trying to figure out the guy completely.

"I think you confuse me with Nico"

"No, I'm pretty sure I meant you love" He smirked, earning a half smile from me and an eye roll from Jazz. By the look on the hummingbird's face, he uses this type of nicknames on a daily basis "You should have won" the statement came out bluntly, making my eyes go a little wide. He just said that if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Thanks, I guess we'll try next year" Jazz smiled at that, and I mimicked her expression. Thank goodness my comment didn't sound too uneasy. A laugh made us all turn our heads to the other side of the stage, where Flare and Nico where talking, the former laughing at something Nico had said or done. I looked away quickly, not really interested in what they were doing.

_Not interested, my tail feathers, you're j-_

I mentally kicked my inner self as hard as I could, effectively silencing her. I grunted lowly, suppressing a scoff that suddenly wanted to come out. Damian shook his head a little and started mumbling.

"Well now we know why Flare voted for them…"

"Let her be, it's hard not to give that guy a second glance" Jazz said in a casual tone.

Damian placed a wing in his chest "Hey don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's bad looking" he shrugged and added "he's just not my type" I would have fainted if it wasn't for his joking tone. This guy is even more intense than everyone I know, even Pedro. And Pedro can be intense when he wants to, trust me. But even more than just his comments, he seems to have no filters to what he says, he just says it and hopes for the best.

Jazz seems quite used to it, just giving the other one a look before saying "Of course not. We all know what your type is" her teasing tone earned a smile from Damian, his crest rising and staying that way for a while.

"Speaking of which" he addressed his next comment to me "you wouldn't happen to know where your friend ran to, would you?"

I blinked once, then twice, not really knowing what to say. It took me a moment to understand who he was talking about, but when I did I had to blink once more. I couldn't picture Damian and Sophie together, no matter how hard I tried. Innocent Sophie, the amazing dancer with a nice attitude, challenging with her brother but a little shy if you don't know her, and Damian, the joking foreigner with an adrenaline addiction and a clear cynic side behind his playful manners. Right now the only thing they have in common is dancing; I don't know him well enough to say anything else.

"No… she was in a hurry to get away from her brother" I felt the need to explain at their expressions "they made a bet during the competition"

"Oh, so you made bets?" I nodded once, my gaze traveling to Nico before I could stop myself. Jazz noticed this, but decided not to comment about it "What did you bet?"

"It's…" I shifted my weight back and forth anxiously "complicated…" I finished pathetically. Damian raised his brows, but kept his comments to himself after looking at Jazz, who shook her head once discreetly. Bless her for that.

"KALLI!" I almost jumped out of my feathers at the shriek that literally came out of nowhere, three heads snapping up in time to see a panicked Sophie coming our way. She hid behind me, almost tackling me to the ground in the process, and left me between her and what looked like an amused yet annoyed Miguel.

"Save me Kalli!"

"Don't defend her Kalli, she agreed to the bet!"

"No I didn't"

"Yes you did"

"You have no witnesses!"

"No witne… Sophie you're just delaying the inevitable!"

My eyes were wide as plates, my body being dragged around as a ragdoll in Sophie's attempt to use me as a bird shield. She jumped back when Miguel lunged at us, the amusement long gone, and somehow managed to put me next to Jazz, now using me and the two judges as shields. Jazz looked just as surprised as I was, but Damian simply got a flirtatious smile and an amused expression when he felt the parakeet place her wing in his shoulder and press herself behind him since Jazz and I weren't tall enough to cover her fully.

I gave the Hoopoe an uneasy look, not really sure what to expect from him.

"Kalli!" the two parakeets screamed, one of them pleading and the other in a warning tone. I looked to my right, seeing Sophie poking her beak and eyes from behind Damian, and then to Miguel.

"Come on Sophie, you agreed" Sophie's beak fell open as she gave me a hopeless look "besides, how bad can it possibly be?"

* * *

We had all gone to our respective hollows for the night, but were awoken before sunrise by an excited Miguel. Needless to say he got a chalk thrown at his face the moment he tried to wake up my sister. After that we all met at the parakeets' hollow, where not only did we find Rafael, Nico and Pedro, but also Damian, who had talked with Miguel about what he was forcing Sophie to do and decided to tag along. His only explanation was that he had no plans for the morning and that he just couldn't miss this.

We were all so tired by the whole competition thing, that the usual 40 minute flight to our destination took almost an hour to complete, and no one even bothered asking why we were going there. Damian was the only one who knew besides Miguel and Sophie, but they wanted to keep it a surprise.

During the whole trip the only thing that was heard was Sophie trying to buy her way out of the bet, and Miguel simply shaking his head or saying no. The poor parakeet tried to make a run for it more than once, but Miguel caught her in less than a minute.

And now, after an hour of flight, we found ourselves in the Tijuca National Park, northwest from Ipanema, and right in the edge of the biggest waterfall in the entire place. I peeked down and saw that it was quite a fall, preceded by smaller waterfalls, and with a fast current.

"All right. Rafael, the palm leaf please"

"Here you go. Not sure why you wanted it though" Rafael handed Miguel the palm leaf he had been carrying along all the way from the beach back home. It was one big leaf, taller than Rafael himself and thick to the point where not even my talons could break it. Miguel pulled out a piece of string he had brought with him and started working on the leaf. He looked like a child on Christmas, the complete opposite from his sister, who was the epitome of sheer panic.

I gave them both an uneasy look and walked over to Damian, wondering if I could get him to tell me what exactly was going on. But before I could get to him, he started talking to Sophie, a casual yet soft tone.

"Hey love, how you holding up?" his Irish accent broke part of the silence, neither of them noticing my presence.

"Fine… I guess" it was a miracle the girl didn't stutter, and I felt sorry for her. I have no idea what Miguel will ask her to do, but she's terrified to the very core.

"You'll be fine" he placed a wing in the girl's shoulder "just hold on tight and you'll be okay. Who knows, maybe you'll end up enjoying yourself"

"I doubt it" still after her remark, she managed to give Damian a small smile, which he returned with some excitement.

"Ah, don't be negative love, you could be surprised"

I walked away from the scene, far more questions in my head than before. Not only was I completely confused about what we were doing here or what was Sophie going to do, but I was starting to wonder about Damian's intentions with Sophie.

He definitely didn't act like the same bird I met last night when he was around her. Besides the fact that he calls her 'love' and that his adrenaline-seeking personality sometimes shows, there is nothing of what I saw last night. Jazz told me after he left that Damian was one to get interested in a girl quite fast, but she didn't tell me if he lost interest at the same speed or not. Right now he seems like a kind guy, but I'll keep my eye out for him; 'cuase if he hurts Sophie, he'll find himself in the receiving end of _my _rage, and of Miguel's too.

I got to the end of the waterfall and sat down, my legs dangling over the edge back and forth. I heard someone walking my way, and even with the roar of the flowing water I knew who it was; what startled me was how close he turned out to be.

"Love's in the air, isn't it bonita?" I gave Nico a look that asked him to explain, and he just pointed at Damian and Sophie, not missing a beat to point at Pedro and Anna as they shared a quick kiss. I smiled at the last scene as Nico sat down next to me.

"I guess it is"

"Now only we are missing" my heart skipped a beat as a first thought came to my mind. My eyes widened slightly as my body froze, but if Nico noticed this he decided not to comment about it, instead laying down next me with a lazy look in his eyes. I founded it hard to simply shrug away his statement; part of me was trying to get a meaning out of it that I knew wasn't there.

"Not true" he gazed my way "Miguel's single too" I laid down next to him, a low chuckle coming from his chest.

"Yeah. So then it's the three of us" he got up on his right elbow, taking off his bottle cap and placing it on the ground before lying back down, this time using the cap to rest his head.

"It's funny" I said aloud, looking up at the clouds that hovered lazily over us.

"What is?"

"That _you,_ out of all the birds in Rio, are single"

Nico gave me an almost amused look, one of his brows raised "how come?"

"Yeah. I mean, Nico, the great performer with the dream voice, the perfect gentleman, single?" he blinked once, probably not knowing if he should take it as a compliment "I pay attention, and you are not lacking girls that would gladly say yes. Mind explaining?"

He suppressed a laugh and looked up at the sky, shrugging one shoulder "I guess I haven't found the right girl"

"Yeah right" I told him in a teasing tone, earning a light shove from him.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" I turned and met his eyes, suddenly realizing how much of a difference it made to use his cap as a pillow. He had to turn his whole body to look at me in the eye.

"The beautiful and mysterious new performer, who's able to win the audience with just one song; I pay attention too bonita, and there is more than just one guy back at The Branch willing to carry you home" I got a light blush under my feathers, not really buying it but grateful none the less. I've never had more than just one guy interested in me, and the idea of what Nico just said being true is strange to me.

"Please…"

"I'm serious" I looked at him for a moment before looking away, something in his eyes telling me that it wasn't just flattering "So what's your excuse?"

I kept my gaze in the clouds, suddenly finding them to be too bright to be looked at directly. I sighed through my nose, finally mimicking him and shrugging my left shoulder.

"I dunno, I don't like risking it I guess"

Nico scoffed loudly "Yeah right" he quoted me, imitating my voice in a way that made me raise both my brows. He sounded just like me, to the point where even he was surprised. We looked at each other, eyes wide for a moment, before we started laughing loudly.

"Oh my God!" I managed to get out between laughs, holding my stomach as I got into a sitting position "How did you do that?"

"I'm at a loss" he wiped away a tear from his eyes before his laughter started to subside. My own laughs turned into giggles as I laid back down, my wing still in my stomach. He sighed and ran a wing through his feathers, the few feathers on top of his head spiking up a little from the motion.

I had to fight the sudden urge to ruffle up his feathers with my wing, a tone of red getting up my neck and settling on my cheeks. I looked up at the sky, hoping my blush was hidden from the other canary, and bit my lower beak. What the _hell_ was that?

"You alright bonita?" Nico was still chuckling slightly, but he didn't miss the fact that I had stiffened all of a sudden.

"Sure" once I was sure my blush was gone I turned and gave him an honest smile. That did it, and he just looked up once more. A moment passed before his eyes narrowed slightly. At first I thought he was focusing up at the sky, but the devilish smirk that crept up to his beak told me otherwise. It also made me quite nervous.

"Hey Kalli, now that I think of it, you owe me some answers" his eyes focused on me as mine widened. I suddenly felt trapped between those deep brown eyes and a wall, like if Nico was a cat about to jump on me. I stared at him for a second, neither of us moving, as my mind tried to find an escape route for me. After a second of thought I opted to follow my instincts and simply make a run for it.

I tried to get up as fast as I could, but Nico saw it coming from miles away. In a swift moment he grabbed my shoulder, and after a few seconds of struggle he pinned me to the ground, using his full weight to keep me there. I tried to struggle a little more, pushing him with my wing, but felt suddenly paralyzed at how close his face was of mine. Our foreheads where a feathers' distance from each other, his eyes hovering over mine. His wings where on both sides of my head one of them holding my wrist, making my escape impossible, and one of his knees was on my stomach. My wing was still on his chest from when I tried to push him, felling how he seemed to be short of breath, probably from laughing so hard and from the small struggle.

"You ain't avoiding this so easily" his breath tickled my face, and I'm sure mine would have done the same to him if I exhaled, but my breath was stuck in my throat and refused to go out. I blinked once, a blush forming on my cheeks once more, but he just looked at me with determination in his eyes.

"Dear God, get a room will you?" Damian's mocking tone snapped us back to the real world, that one where a group of birds was around us waiting to see Sophie pay her own bet to her brother. That world where said birds were looking at us with amused expressions.

I looked away from the Hoopoe's stare, the deepest blush ever taking over my face and neck as I realized what a mind like his could come up with by just looking at us. Nico got up slowly, the wing that was on my wrist not letting go as he helped me up. Just then I realized the glare Nico was giving to Damian; it was discreet, his eyes barely narrowed, but it was clearly there.

Damian promptly ignored the glare address at him and focused on my still blushing face "Sorry love, but Miguel says everything's ready" I gave him a nod, earning a smile from him. When Nico moved away to get his bottle cap back, Damian leaned and whispered in my ear "Quite a catch darling" the Irish bird gave me a wink, which Nico turned just in time to see, and left in a casual pace, just like if he hadn't made me feel embarrassed to the very core.

"Saved by the Irish guy" Nico placed his bottle cap in his head defiantly, still glaring slightly at the other bird's back. The aggressive attitude seemed completely unusual on Nico, making me look down. I tucked my messy bangs behind my ear, and that simple movement was enough to get Nico back to his normal self "but this isn't over bonita. We have a pending conversation" he pointed at me with one wing while dusting himself off with the other.

"Yeah" I smiled; my blush disappearing the moment Nico came back to normal. I glanced back, and when I saw that Damian, or anyone else for the matter, wasn't looking I got closer to Nico, earning a surprised look from the canary. I dusted off some dirt that he had missed by his shoulder and then looked into his eyes, adding some meaning into my voice as I said "Can't wait"

Nico was so caught on what I was doing, and on my voice, that he didn't notice my other wing going up and getting his bottle cap right off his head. I gave him one last look before walking away, and if I didn't knew him I would have sworn he was about to blush. I glanced back just in time to see him put a wing in his head and then look at me, one of his smirks taking over as he realized what had just happened.

I laughed as I walked past Pedro, but it died down the moment I saw the scene in front of me.

The palm leaf was spread out on the ground next to the river that lead to the chain of small waterfalls, Sophie sitting on it with a look of dread in her face. The string Miguel had brought was tied at the base of the leaf, going under it in complicated knots around the leaf before the two ends stuck out on the sides, both of which were being grabbed by Sophie. The parakeet had a nutshell on her head, giving the impression of an improvised helmet.

The whole thing seemed odd until it hit me. It was a sled; a much improvised one, but a sled none the less. But there was no mountain around, where was Sophie supposed to… A feeling of dread built inside me as my eyes focused on the river next to us, Damian's words suddenly making sense.

"_You'll be fine, just hold on tight and you'll be okay"_

Please tell me this isn't what I think it is.

I heard Nico trying to sneak up behind me in an attempt to get his bottle cap back, clearly not aware of what was about to happen to Sophie. I simply took the cap of my head and handed it out to him, my eyes not leaving the parakeet for a second.

"Aww c'mon! How could you possibly know it was me?" you could almost hear the frustration in Nico's voice, but I didn't bother answering him.

"Miguel" Rafael voiced all of my fears before I even had the time to speak. Miguel looked up from his work at the sled "don't you think this is a little too much?"

Sophie managed to pull off a blank stare "A _little_?"

Miguel simply looked at his sister and then at the waterfall with an expression that showed he was in deep thought. He shrugged a second later and got back to work "No, not really. Why?"

My beak fell open at what he said, but again before I could say anything Miguel got up and grabbed Sophie by her shoulders "Okay sis, this is it, you ready?"

"Not really" Sophie glanced at the river nervously "but I don't have a choice do I?"

"Nope" Miguel gave her the cutest smile I have ever seen, earning a death glare from his sister. If looks could kill, the male parakeet would have burst into flame right then and there.

"Listen darling" Damian moved forward, patting Sophie on the back gently "just hold on and enjoy the ride. The current will do all the hard work for you until you reach the edge. If I could I'd change spots with you" Sophie nodded and focused on Damian while Miguel took the edge of the leaf with his claws and dragged it to the very edge of the river. I looked around me, not really knowing how to react.

Rafael had an uneasy look on his face, probably thinking that this was a bad idea. Anna had her face hidden in Pedro´s chest feathers, the cardinal's eyes wide, but not in his usual excitement. He looked truly nervous. Nico was standing next to his best friend, his bottle cap covering his whole face except for his eyes. I looked back at Sophie just as Damian stepped away from her.

She seemed a little calmer now; leave it to Damian to get her to relax in such a situation. Unluckily, any determination that might have built in her broke down when Miguel spoke again.

"Oh, and if you see a rock, just pull the string in the other direction"

Sophie's eyes were wide beyond belief at this point "Rocks!"

"Relax" Miguel pushed her and got the leaf into the water "You'll be fine!" before Sophie could say anything the powerful current pulled her away. The current itself was stronger than any of us anticipated, dragging her away and into the lower maze of small drops in just a second, not even giving her time to scream.

Damian took off right behind her, matching her speed without a problem.

Miguel laughed like a small child before following suit "I've got to see this!"

The rest of just stared wide eyed at where Sophie used to be without moving. I looked back at the rest, seeing they were just like I was, shocked and speechless. A scream from down the river snapped me out of the shock and I darted in the direction where Sophie had disappeared, not bothering to check if the others were following me or not.

I got some height as I flew over the many small rivers that divided themselves and went in different directions before meeting again at the very end, right before the big drop. I looked around, searching for Sophie but not finding her. A hysterical laugh made me turn to the right where I saw Miguel and Damian hovering over Sophie at high speed. Damian was flying so close to the water I thought he would get into the river, but he just did an elegant body roll and kept following the panicked parakeet that was pulling at the string frantically. Meanwhile Miguel was laughing so hard he was having trouble staying in the air.

A scream made me turn my head in time to see Sophie being shot from the edge of the waterfall and then disappear downwards. In that very moment Miguel couldn't handle his own laughter anymore and collapsed on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

We all gathered at the edge of the cliff, Miguel sitting on the floor trying to control his laughing fit and Damian flying over us. We all simply stared, waiting for Sophie to come back up.

"Miguel, you're so mean!" Anna pushed him, the parakeet simply collapsing back on the floor and not bothering to deny it.

"And you're not the one that has to live with him" her voice was heard before a green wing came from the edge of the cliff, the whole body of a very tired Sophie following suit. The improvised helmet was covering one of her eyes, the palm leaf tied around her ankle. She stood there, an unamused look on her visible eye and soaking wet from beak to tail.

Brother and sister watched each other in silence before a loud snort was heard and Miguel started rolling on the floor. The whole scene earned a small laugh from all of us, including me, but I tried to cover it with a cough.

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny. Wait till I get you back…" Damian landed next to Sophie, who was trying and failing to get part of the water off her feathers.

"Ah love, it wasn't that bad. You did quite good for a first timer" he got the helmet off her, getting some trapped water to fall on her head. Miguel was gasping for air at this point, earning a smirk from his sister.

"Yeah girl, it was awesome!" Pedro stated like he hadn't been nervous less than a minute earlier.

"Well then, your next" Sophie threw the palm leaf at Pedro, the now damaged plant landing at his feet. The cardinal rubbed his neck and coughed awkwardly.

"Maybe next time…" none of us could keep our laughter to ourselves, even Sophie cracking a genuine smile.

* * *

The flight back home was faster this time, only taking us 40 minutes before we saw the city in the distance. This time the whole trip was filled with small talks, some of which were Sophie plotting against her brother with mine and Anna's help. It's not like the male parakeet will wake up tomorrow without a single feather on his body –took us a while to talk Sophie out of that one- but he is in for a real treat next year.

I enjoyed the flight back home, watching the jungle and the beach while my friends' voices filled the air, trying to memorize everything while I could. At this point it was hard not to think of Luca falling on me like a bird of prey, but I tried my best.

We landed on a tent that covered a stand at the fruit market, big enough to hide us from human eyes. Pedro pulled my sister on a one wing hug.

"Well, hate to break this down on you, but you owe me" Anna gave her boyfriend a defeated look, a small smile in her beak, and placed her wing on his chest.

"I know, I know. Just give me one second, I've got to do something first" Pedro nodded once before Anna grabbed my wing and pulled away from the others. Nico gave us a curious look but Anna made me turn the other way so that I was facing her. There was a sudden seriousness in her eyes.

"Go"

"What?" I blinked once in utter confusion.

"Go now, I'll cover for you"

"What are you talking about?"

"You seriously think I don't know about your bet with Nico?" I froze on the spot at that.

"How?"

"I know you enough to know" then she added in a murmur "and I heard you when you made it" I tried to give her a blank stare, but she pushed me away, practically getting me off the tent. I still gave her a confused look, not really knowing why she wanted me to leave.

"Face it Kalli, your terrified to tell him, I can see it" I looked down for a second, hating that she knew how to read me whenever she needed to "and even if you'll have to tell him sooner or later, you can get some time to get ready" I gave her a grateful smile before she left. Nico took a step my way, but Anna grabbed his wing and pulled him in the opposite direction.

"Nico, may I have a word with you?" Anna sent me a wink and shooed me with her wing. Nico looked suspicious, but before he could complain I jumped off the tent. I flew just an inch away from ground level under ten stands before I turned a corner and flew aimlessly through the city. I started gaining speed, suddenly realizing how scared I really was.

Luca would show up any moment now and weather I liked it or not I would have to spend my last day answering any question Nico wants to ask me, limitations aside. Not that the idea of spending time with Nico bothers me, but I'm not keen on the idea of going through an interrogation.

_I tried to warn you, but you never listen to me!_

I shook my head, not wanting to deal with my inner self at the time being; it's true I never listen to her, and I'm definitely not starting now. I instead focused on my surroundings, but what I found around me made me stop dead on the spot. I had made it all the way back to the jungle, just a few yards away from the beach. I started panting, the great distance I had traveled suddenly taking its toll on me.

I collapsed on the soft sand, not bothering to get away from the crashing waves that soaked my feathers, and closed my eyes. A soft breeze fluttered past me allowing me to intake the smell of the ocean. I placed my head in my wings, just listening to the sounds of the ocean and of the jungle behind me, filled with life at this hour. I stayed like that for a few minutes before the passing waves started sinking me in the damp sand, forcing me to move into another place.

I walked along the shore for a while, trying hard to keep my own thoughts on edge. Once I couldn't I just let them come at me full force, preparing myself for the emotional hit I knew was coming.

Part of my mind was counting every single second that went by, a mix of relief and dread by the mere thought of Luca. It was like getting into a snake's den; you sigh in relief the deeper you get, but you know it'll attack sooner or later. It was that feeling of suspense that was killing me. And I'm quite sure Luca knows it.

The part of me that wasn't working as a fulltime clock was focusing on my bet with Nico, flashing questions and answers before my eyes far too fast for me to register all of them. The ones I did register made me cringe.

_You don't have to answer him._

Oh really? And how does that work?

_You could just stay here and wait for Luca._

I slowed down into a full stop, not sure if I had heard myself correctly. Wait for Luca? While the idea of staying at the beach was tempting, there was something that kept tugging at the back of my mind, demanding my attention. An old memory, buried and locked away, but that had found its way through the barriers. A voice, cold and angry, filled with poison and grief, echoing through my head like a scream would on a cave.

I took off in the air to the only place where I knew I could find Nico right now. No more hiding, no more running, no more excuses and no more avoiding what I should have done hours ago. I dashed through the trees while Luca's voice repeated itself in my head like a cruel mantra:

"You're such a coward"

* * *

**So... yeah. The guys won! Anyone has any questions you want Nico to ask Kalli (remember it's six of them)? Anything goes guys. What did you guys think of Damian? I based him on some movie characters (mostly Eames from Inception) but I don't know. What do you think?**

**On with the reviews: **

**ILOVENICO1000X: Thanks, glad you liked it. As you see the guys won (I just had to make them win). I'm giving up, the cuteness cannot be avoided, so I'm really glad you like it (there will be A LOT more in next chapters). And thanks, I had a great time in vacations, but I'm actually more tired now than before I left XD oh well.**

**EmmerzK: Hope I didn't have you waiting for to long (your review and your PM told me you were quite excited, so I hope this made you happy :D). :3 I love that song, it just had to be there. And do not fear, I'll get the bottle cap story in sooner or later, but for now we can focus on Nico's questions for Kalli. And just to answer your question (took me a while to answer, sorry ^^") I'm thinking Nico should be 21 or 22, not sure at the time (I want him to be young, and let's face it, he doesn't give the impression of being much older than that)**

**SacredHearts: Thanks, always good to see a new name. And OMG I sooo love that song (hahaha, does it show?) Glad you liked the song choice.**

**Guest/Niah09: I hadn't realized the review said "guest" until I read your second review XD. OMG you must, MUST hear 'The Reason' and watch Inception. Inception is probably my favorite movie besides Rio in the entire world (I have the biggest crush on Arthur X3). It happens to me too, I see a girl talking to my crush and I'm like 'GRRR!' XD. Everyone wanted the girls to win just 'cause they wanted to hear the bottle cap story (don't worry, we'll get to hear Nico's story). I did take a small book with me, and no, I don't think your CDs and my song picks are a coincidence (I think your mind reading powers are back). Yup, Luca will be back soon. Very soon...**

**JahMasterWikiwuki: And I just want you to know how much I love your name! It's so cool! XD. Well, you were right, the guys won; Any questions you might want to ask Kalli? And thanks, for forcing yourself to write the review, I really appreciate it :D.**

**OMG guys, so many reviews! I got totally mind blown! THANKS! I can't thank you enough for wasting your time in reading this thing, and for showing support. I just... thank you so much :3.**

**Special thanks to antaurilover685, Givala, JahMasterWikiwuki, SacredHearts, Whispers-of-Eternal-Moon-Mist and in case I didn't mention you before, ILOVENICO1000X (I'm not sure if I mentioned you before, so just to be on the safe side) for adding this to their faves.**

**Hey guys I was checking the story stats, and turns out there's someone in Slovakia reading this! So freaking awesome!**

**I hate adding this, but I don't own Rio, I just own my OCs (I think by this point we all know their names). **

**And remember that all reviews are welcome, no exceptions. See you later guys! (Dear God, I ramble like crazy...)**


	15. An Open Book

**Hey guys! I'm sorry it took me this long to write this but I had the worst writer's block EVER. I also stepping out of what I call a blank state; it's basically staring into a wall for hours, not being able to sleep, and feel horrible depression (mix that with heart break and that describes me for the last week). But I'm back, good as new and with the longest chapter in the whole story (Holy $#*!, this is so long!). Future chapters will not be this long, trust me. Anyways, enjoy :)**

* * *

I flew past tress, buildings and other birds as I made my way through the city. Turns out I had flown in a complete unknown direction when I left the others at the fruit market, and now I had to find my way back. Getting back to the city wasn't that easy, not until it occurred to me that I could just get high enough and locate it, but once there it was a piece of cake to find my way to my wanted destination.

I thought of going straight into the jungle but since I was already there, it wouldn't kill me to check at The Branch too; who knows, maybe he's there.

But just like I had thought, Nico wasn't there. Apparently my sister's idea to distract Nico so that I could get away had freaked him out, getting the canary to leave early and into and unknown destination; luckily for me, I knew just where he was. Not so lucky, I still have to figure out what Anna told him.

I flew as fast as I could, catching every single updraft I encountered until I got where I wanted to be, the massive trees welcoming me. This place wasn't as scary with sun light as it was in the middle of the night, but there was still something about it that made the small feathers in the back of my neck stand and put my senses on edge.

I got to the biggest tree in the place, a few memories from two nights ago guiding me into the cave, which was dark even at this time. Thankfully I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, as cliché as that sounded, so I wouldn't get lost this time. I walked in carefully, like something would jump on me any time. Now that I give it a thought, I've been feeling that quite a lot lately.

I took another step forward but immediately lifted my foot, feeling a sudden change on the ground. What used to be a simple path of cold, damp soil turned into something soft and far colder; It didn't take me long to identify it as moss. Turns out there was this long patch of moss just growing there that I didn't notice last time I was here. I walked over the carpet of moss until it ended, but before I continued I took a few steps back on it. Every step I took was completely noiseless, every movement I made silenced by the moss; this is probably how Nico snuck up on me the other night.

I was so caught up on my, rather pointless, thoughts, that I couldn't stop my head from snapping up when I heard something ahead of me. I rubbed my neck, my sudden movement causing a muscle to stretch a little too much, and focused my attention on the noise coming from outside of the tunnel. At first it was unclear, but as I got closer to the exit it became evident that someone was humming; and not just anyone. I know that voice, even if he's just humming.

I stepped into the clear and almost instantly found Nico, his back turning my way and leaning against a rock, his cap clearly over his eyes. He kept humming along to a song I didn't recognize, totally unaware of my presence. I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to break the peace that took over the entire place, but crossed it as another excuse from my mind and made my way to the other canary.

The whole place looked different during the day, sunbeams going through the vines and reflecting of the water of the stream, somehow making the place look bigger. Still, the title 'piece of heaven' fitted it.

Nico kept humming even with me standing right next to him. I had learnt to be silent when I was a kid, able to move around without making a noise when I really wanted to, but this was just ridiculous. I considered tapping his shoulder, but a better idea struck me. In perfect silence I climbed on the rock where he was lying, pressing my stomach against the cool surface and sliding forward using my wings for support. My face was almost at the same level as Nico's, just upside down and only a few millimeters of space between us. A smirk took over my features, but just as I opened my beak to surprise the canary, he spoke.

"Don't even think about it Kalli" I looked at him in surprise, my beak still open. Even with his cap still covering his eyes he smirked, imagining my reaction "Not so fun with the roles switched, huh bonita?" I sighed dramatically and got up, getting into a sitting position on the rock.

"Alright, you got me" I slid down until I was sitting next to him, landing with a small 'thump' on the grass. He raised his cap and gave me an almost amused look, one of his smiles in his beak "quite impressive, I must say"

"Thanks. Took a lot of practice"

"Well, you nailed it. Well done my young grasshopper" one glance at Nico's face send me straight into a laughing fit, the other one looking at me with a mix between confusion and amusement as he laughed himself.

"_grasshopper?_"

I simply shrugged my laughter ending as fast as it started "Yeah" Nico shook his head, his smile not leaving him.

"So, what do I own the pleasure of your visit to?"

"Thought I might come say hi. I couldn't find you at the club"

"Oh, so you were looking for me" Nico spoke in a teasing tone, getting me to roll my eyes.

"As a matter of fact I was" my tone got a serious hint on it "I believe I have a bet to pay"

Nico blinked a few times, his eyes flashing with the same seriousness that I spoke even if his smile never left him "I knew you'd come around eventually. Shall we start?" it was more a fact than a question, but I still nodded.

"Only if you have your questions ready"

"I'm always ready bonita" he got into a more comfortable position and so did I. He looked ready to go, but just as his beak opened he hesitated, beak closing again and his eyes landing on me. I raised my brow at him, his stare suddenly making me feel uneasy.

"What's wrong? I thought you were ready"

"I am" he stated in a matter-of-fact tone, but then seemed to run out of words "I just…"

"…just?" I pressed on gently. He sighed and met my eyes, a weird look on his face, not like anything I had seen on him before.

"I… I don't want to step on any lines"

I smiled warmly at him, not really knowing what to tell him. If only I could tell him how grateful I am for what he just said.

"Okay. Let's do this: you ask the question, and before answering I'll tell you if you're pushing any limits. Sounds good?"

"Good enough for me. Okay so first question…" he still looked a little hesitant, like he already knew I would reject the question. Little did he knew I wasn't going to tell him anything even if he did step on a line; I owe him that much.

"Rafael told me that your parents… what happened?"

I gave him a small smile, signaling that I was okay with the question, and leaned back further against the rock. Nico mimicked my action, placing his bottle cap on his lap but not fiddling with it; his full attention was on me.

"My parents… That's an interesting story. Do you wanna know how they met? I won't count it as a question" I got a nod in response and kept talking, loosing myself in my own mind "Well, my mother was born here on the jungle, with a bunch of sisters. She told Anna and me that one day she was flying around in the city and this huge draft knocked her straight into a window. My dad lived in that house, so he took care of her for a few days until she got better.

"She really liked him, it was kind of 'love at first sight' I guess. So after my mother left and got back into the jungle she started missing him and after a week she was back and stayed with him. Anna and I came along a few years later"

"So, you lived with humans?"

"Born and raised with them. My father was born there, in that same house, and after my mother moved in she never went back out; the people there didn't seem to mind though"

Nico was quiet for a moment, taking in the information I had just given him. Once it all sank on him he nodded once, his eyes landing back on me; there was a type of sympathy on them, almost too much to bear.

"Kalli, if you don't…"

"No it's okay" I gave him a reassuring smile, pushing all my emotions into the back on my head. I had to finish this, no matter what.

"So… what happened to them?" Nico's voice was soft, like he feared I would break down any moment. But I kept on a calm face as I thought of the best way to tell him this without sounding weird; I don't want to sound insensitive, but I'm not about to prove Nico right and brake down right now.

"It started out as a normal night; the humans that lived with us were out for the night and we were sleeping. But in the middle of the night, I woke up and realized something was wrong…"

_I rubbed my eyes, getting into a sitting position on the nest. I yawned, my wing still rubbing my left eye._

_There was a weird noise outside our cage, like small crackling all over. I looked over to my parents' nest, that was higher on the cage, but they were sound asleep. There was a loud crack behind me and when I turned I saw lights dancing on the other side of the rag that covered our cage._

"_Anna" I shook my sister with both my wings, getting the heavy sleeper to wake up in an instant._

"_What?"_

"_Look" I pointed behind her, her eyes widening at the show of light that kept growing around us "What's that?"_

"_I dunno" she jumped out of the nest, leaving me alone "Come on"_

"_What if mom and dad wake up?" I glanced at the other nest once more, climbing out of our own nest myself._

"_They won't, now come on"_

_We got closer to the edge, the lights becoming brighter and brighter, different colors showing through the white rag. I coughed a few times while Anna kneeled in front of the bars of the cage. I got closer to her just as she raised the white fabric, but the moment she did it we both froze._

_We watched in horror as fire took over the small apartment. A chair collapsed, snapping us back to reality. We got up, taking a few steps back, and then flew up to our parents' nest. Smoke had find its' way inside the covered cage when we raised the rag, earning a coughing fit from me._

"_Mom!" I shook her while Anna tried to wake dad "Mom, wake up!" still no answer. Anna wasn't having any luck either, both our parents sleeping soundly "Mommy?" my shakes changed from hard to soft over and over, but still she wasn't moving._

"_Dad!" something else collapsed outside, getting a scream from my sister. I was so scared I couldn't even talk. Part of the rag around us caught fire, making my eyes go wide beyond belief._

"_M-mom, p-p-please wake up!" everything got blurry because of my tears, but I didn't give up on my effort. That was until the door of the cage opened and two birds came inside. Someone tried to pull me back, but I held onto my mother for dear life "No! Mom wake up!" another pull got me away, someone wrapping their talons around my middle and getting me out of the cage. Anna was struggling with the bird trying to get her away, while I just squirmed around._

"_No! Mom! Dad! Wait, WAIT!" I saw the cage fall down on the glass table beneath it as we got out through the window._

My voice cracked slightly, not giving me time to cover it up with a cough. Nico noticed this and in an instant his wing was on mine, sadness in his eyes "I've been afraid of fire ever since"

"Kalli, I'm so sorry"

"Thanks. At least they died because of the smoke, sleeping" my smile didn't fool either of us, not one bit. I never thought telling someone this would be so hard; Rafael didn't knew the details and Anna and I never spoke about it. A moment of silence went by, Nico squeezing my wing every now and then, before curiosity got the best out of him.

"Who got you out?"

I looked down, knowing the flow of questions that would come once I said their names out loud. I also asked myself if that still counted as question number one, but finally I concluded that small doubts wouldn't count as questions. Nico was probably hoping for that, so why not.

"Bruno and Luca"

"Bruno?" something clicked on Nico's mind, that name familiar to him "as in the guy that trashed your hollow with that crazy girl?"

"That's him. And Luca, as in the guy who sent them"

Nico's eyes widened ever so slightly, surprise flashing on his entire face. His brows knitted together before he asked his next question.

"Who are these birds Kalli? How could you get involved with birds like that?"

"What do you want to know about them?"

"Everything" there was a serious glint in his eyes, his brows still pulled into a frown. I sighed shortly. How to explain someone as complex as Luca? As Bruno or Maia?

"When I lived with my parents, my mother would always get visits from friends and family from the jungle. Pretty much every day someone would come, but not only birds. I remember there was a cat that always showed up, a friend of my father. Anyways, there was this huge storm one day, so no one came; and then, out of nowhere, there was a tap on the window…"

_The rain fell heavily outside, hitting the glass window with a repetitive pattern._

"_I'm bored" I moaned, rolling on my back so I was looking at the ceiling rather than the sad weather outside._

"_Me too" Anna somehow rolled on top of me, our dramatic sighs getting my father's attention._

"_Well how 'bout we play something?" We looked over at him with interested smiles, waiting for one of his fun games "How about hide and seek?" _

"_Aww, but you always find us"_

"_Yeah you know all the good hiding spots on the cage"_

"_Alright" he thought of it for a while before walking away from my mother, who was sleeping peacefully, and down next to the cage door "What if we play outside of the cage?"_

_Two sets of eyes looked at him in surprise, Anna and I scrambling to our feet in an instant._

"_Outside?"_

"_But mom says we shouldn't go outside when there's people in the house"_

"_Yes" he leaned down and whispered between us "but this will be our little secret, okay?" Anna and I giggled and nodded as my father opened the cage with ease. He started counting a moment after, Anna and I darting in search of a hiding spot. Anna hid under a hat that was on the table and I got on a potted plant by the window. I hid behind the bright yellow flowers, trying my best to be invisible as my father started his search for us._

_I covered my beak to stop myself from laughing, or sneezing at the amount of flowers around me. The rain kept tapping on the window behind me, the sound increasing in speed. Suddenly there was a tap that stood out from the rest, getting my attention. I looked outside, but only saw the gray sky. The tap changed into a knock making me look into the very corner of the window; there, shaking and soaking wet, were two young birds, the eldest knocking the glass repeatedly._

_I stepped out from my hiding spot and walked towards them, the game long forgotten._

"_Please let us in" his voice sounded muffled, but understandable enough. I unlocked the window and tried to push it open, but it was far too heavy. I looked inside the apartment and found my dad, immediately flying next to him._

"_Dad?"_

_He turned and rose his brow at me "Kalliope, you're supposed to be hiding. What's wrong?"_

"Wait, wait, wait" Nico interrupted me, giving me a look of confusion "your full name… is Kalliope?"

"…Yes. What wrong with that?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's a beautiful name, I just… I dunno, took me by surprise" he rubbed his neck, a small, an almost embarrassed smile on his beak. I smiled back at him, one of my brows raised, as I noticed just how cute these type of smiles look on him. _Focus Kalli…_

"Just so you know it, only my father called me Kalliope, and I intend to keep it that way"

"Don't tempt me bonita; it might become a habit of mine to use your full name from now on" My look made him cough awkwardly "Please, continue"

"…Where was I?"

"There was someone on the window"

"Oh right. Thanks"

"No problem…" he glanced my way, a clear smirk on his face as he spoke in a teasing tone "Kalliope" there was something about the way he said my name that made me smile, but I brushed it away.

"Moving on. I went to look for my dad…."

"_There's someone on the window" Dad gave me a look before flying off, Anna poking her head from under the hat. She was about to say something when the window opened for a moment, letting the cold air inside. My mother woke up in that moment, looking around before spotting us._

_We met on my old hiding spot, my mother ready to ask us what we were doing outside but then she saw the two trembling birds standing next to my father. The older one was holding a small girl close to him, the later hiding her face on his chest._

"_We have nowhere to stay. It will only be for one night, I promise" his tone was pleading, and there was no way my parents would say no to him. Our eyes met for an instant, but I looked down._

"…and that's how I met Luca and Isabel. They stayed there for almost a week and we all became fast friends. Even after they left they would still come to visit and play at least once a week…"

"_Alright" the two Scarlet Macaws came out from behind their hiding spot and stood on the window ledge next to each other "Who's who?"_

_All eyes went from me to the twins, waiting to see what I said. I focused only on them, waiting for my suspicions of which one was Marcus and which one Andreus to prove true. After a few seconds I pointed to the macaw on the right._

"_That's Andreus" I then pointed to the other macaw "and that's Marcus"_

_Both their beaks fell open before a smile appeared on their faces as they chorused "Unbelievable" the rest of the birds present cheered at me for my fifth victory against the twins. Marcus spiked his crest, the only way others could tell them apart, and started talking._

"_Just one more time…"_

"_Explain how you do it" his brother finished for him. I smiled thoughtfully, tapping my chin with a single flight feather._

"_In your shadows, Marcus holds his tail feathers higher. And Andreus stands with his feet pointing outside" they looked down at each other and then at their shadows, clearly not seeing their differences._

"_Impressive" Luca said, giving me an interested smile. I smiled back at him and then looked downwards at the small girl pulling my wing._

"_Can you teach me to do that?" Isabel asked hopefully._

"_Sure" we beamed at each other as I explained to her what to do, Luca chuckling as his sister tried to tell the twins apart._

"…Then the fire occurred, and Luca was thankfully flying by with one of his friends. Actually it was Bruno, and they got us out…"

"_What happened?" Anna held me close to her as we looked at the huge fire. Luca stood in front of us, blocking the terrifying sight._

"_W-we woke up a-and everything was o-on fire" I felt tears rolling down my cheeks and I sniffed loudly. Luca spoke with his friend, a tall bird covered in gray and black feathers, low enough so that we couldn't hear them. The fire kept growing by the second, huge clouds of smoke mixing with the clouds in the sky._

"_Come on girls, we have to go" Luca pulled us to our feet, earning a panicked look from Anna._

"_B-but what about mom a-and dad?"_

_The look in Luca's eyes was of sympathy and worry "They… they're gone Anna"_

"_No! Your wrong, they're r-right th-there we just…" She broke down crying along with me, Luca still trying to get us to follow him._

"_Come on, we have to go before everyone gets here" Luca's friend nodded once before grabbing my sister like he had to get her out of the house, only this time she was crying and screaming. I cried too, but couldn't fight Luca as he pulled me up and flew behind his friend into the jungle._

"…He took us to his own hollow, and that's where we met Maia…"

_We got inside the small hollow, Anna already asleep in the grey bird's wings._

"_Put her on the other room, I'll be right there" the other one nodded and disappeared in another room with my sister. Luca held me by my shoulder as I just stood there "Hey, can you walk?"_

_I nodded slightly, walking after the grey bird. I saw a girl talking to Luca while he explained what had happened. She gave me a look before asking something I couldn't hear. The other bird soon joined them, leaving me and Anna alone on a small nest. A pair of eyes poked over the edge, surprised green eyes to be exact._

"_Kalli? What are you doing here?" Isabel sounded surprised but excited, a weird mix compared to how I felt._

"_She's going to stay with us for a while Izzy" Luca appeared and lifted his sister with ease, placing her on the nest next to us "Do you like that?"_

_The smaller girl nodded eagerly, earning a smile from the older bird._

"_Go to sleep. Both of you" with that Luca disappeared in the other room, where a hushed conversation could be heard. I fell asleep listening to Isabel's plans for what we would do in the morning._

"…With time I learned each and every one of their stories. Turns out the 'gray bird' was called Bruno, he was 12 when I met him. He was reserved and quiet, but hardly mean. He never said much about himself, but Luca told me Bruno had been alone all his life, practically raised himself. Luca found him after a fight, badly hurt and the other bird almost dead. Luca helped him, even fought the other bird when he recovered and came back for Bruno. They were best friends, and for what I saw, Bruno was willing to give his life away for Luca.

"Maia, she was… well, you saw her at The Branch. She must be… 21 right now, which made her 6 when I met her. She wasn't as mean before, but she started changing with time; I mean, she was messed up when I met her, but she wasn't mean to me. She could be mean when she wanted, though. She told me herself that she had been owned by a family that used to travel a lot, and somehow her cage got lost in the airport, and she was left in Rio. The people from the airport threw the cage away, Maia still inside, and that's how Luca found her. She had a huge trust issue, but saw Luca as her own personal savior.

"And then we have Luca and Isabel, 9 and 2 when we met. They were orphans, just like Anna and me, but they had it worse. After their parents died they stayed with their aunt, but she kicked them out, saying she didn't want to deal with either of them. That's when we found them on the rain, on my window. Luca was impulsive at times, but he was calculating most of the time; he did know how to take an opportunity, I'll give him that. Isabel was a little shyer, quiet in front of strangers; but once you met her she was just the cutest girl ever. He was super protective of her"

Nico blinked a few times "And even knowing all of this about them you stayed with them?"

"Five years, yes"

"For samba's sake Kalli, what were you thinking?" Nico sounded shocked, like if I had just told him I broke my own wing on purpose.

"I wasn't thinking Nico. When you've lost everything so fast, and at that age… they took us in with open wings, and in my situation you just can't say no to something like that" I knew I should have given it a better thought when they offered us a permanent home, a 'family' of some sorts. But at the time everything had looked like a dream. Little did I know it would turn into a nightmare that would haunt me up to this very day.

"How old were you?" Nico still looked a little shocked, like my argument hadn't convinced him, but his tone was softer.

"Four"

Nico swallowed, clearly hoping for a higher number. Birds stop being considered chicks or 'kids' when they turn five, then they're young birds until they turn twenty-one. No one should go through anything like the lost of their parents at such a young age, but that was another reason why I stayed with Luca and the others; we were all young, and we understood each other's pain, being through similar things ourselves.

"Okay, I get that they went through some really hard things, but that doesn't explain their attitude, especially since you used to be friends. What happened between you and them that made them trash your hollow?"

I reacted in a physical way at the question by flinching. I looked down, speechless.

"Sorr-"

"No Nico, it's f-"

"It's not fine. We agreed that you would tell me when I stepped on a line, don't break that deal just so I won't feel bad" just then I realized my wing was still on his "Let's just leave that one for later" I nodded at him, a grateful expression in my face as my shoulders, which I just realized were stiff, relaxed.

"Alright… Okay, I'm really curious about this one; I'm probably wasting a question, but I'll take the chance" he got a relaxed expression, making the whole situation lighter and earning a smile from me.

"Go on"

"How, on Earth, can you take my bottle cap without me noticing?" he pressed the stripped cap against his chest as I laughed, seriously not expecting this one "And don't tell me it's talent, 'cause what you do takes practice and I'm getting all paranoid about my safety" I laughed even harder, slipping my wing out of his to hold my stomach. His expression showed fake indignation as I laughed, but the grin in his beak betrayed him.

"So, how do you do it? I deserve an explanation" I laughed lowly, my eyes half closed as I shrugged.

"Well, not only did I have help, I practiced on a daily basis. You see, after a year of living with Luca and the others, he talked us into what looked like the worst idea ever…"

"_Luca, are you sure this is a good idea?"_

"_Of course it is, just do as I told you and everything will be fine" I looked over at the group of marmosets below us, unaware of the four birds plotting against them. I swallowed loudly, thinking of what could happen to us if this went wrong. Lucky Anna that stayed home watching Isabel._

"_Okay guys, everyone knows what to do?" Bruno and Maia nodded quickly and I mumbled a reply "good. If this goes according to plan, we should have a new home by tomorrow morning" I debated if a new house was worth the risk we were running, but there was no way to argue with Luca about this. The Stonechat had founded a huge hollow a few days back, far bigger than the one we had, with a great view and better for the amount of birds we were. The only bad thing about the place was that there was a macaw living in it._

_The only thing she would trade the hollow for was a diamond ring, who knows what she wants it for, but that was the only thing she wanted (amazing what some birds will do for their own vanity). And that was exactly what the marmosets were sitting on right now. Literally, the leader of the group has a huge diamond ring at the base of his improvised throne._

"_Alright, Bruno and I go first, you girls wait for the signal" Luca took the silver bracelet and fake golden ring we had found on the beach the other day and flew down, followed by Bruno. They landed right in front of the marmoset on the throne. He gave Luca and Bruno a bored look as all eyes fell on the two birds, silence taking over the place._

"_Do you think they'll be fine?"_

"_Please this is Luca were talking about, not to mention he has Bruno as backup. Come on, were up in a minute" she patted my back once and started skipping from branch to branch with me right behind her._

_I could see, even from up here, that the conversation below was heating up; luckily Luca was ready for everything. Right now they were on the bargain phase of the plan._

_The plan was something like this: first, Luca and Bruno would go down and talk to Mauro, the marmoset leader, and try and convince him to change the diamond ring for our bracelet and small ring. Luca knew Mauro would say no, and in that moment Maia would go down to attack Mauro, pretending to be aiming at the ring under him. Once there was a fight down there, I would sneak up and take the ring while the others distracted the marmosets. According to Luca the plan was bulletproof, but I had my doubts._

_Mauro threw the bracelet at Luca, who simply dodged it with ease. He said something to Mauro, a defiant look on his face, while he made a discreet signal with his wing._

"_Don't forget the ring" Maia flashed me a smile before leaving the tree "we're counting on you" with that said she glided down at high speed, nailing Mauro right on the head with her talons. _

"…Of course, I was caught just as I was flying off with the ring. Ugh we were so close… anyways, when Mauro saw me…"

"_Oh, what do we have here?" Mauro came my way, my eyes wide at the thought of getting caught. I gave Luca a pleading look, but there was a marmoset holding him back "Another little bird?" he grabbed my shoulder, earning an actual growl from Luca. _

"_Don't touch her"_

_Mauro laughed a little "Awww, this makes the little birdie mad?" Mauro pushed me and I landed ungracefully next to the fake ring we had used as exchange for the real one. Mauro grabbed the diamond ring and placed it on his wrist, using it as a bracelet that was clearly too big for him._

"_Fine you can have her. But I want that ring you brought with you"_

"_Why?"_

"_It might be fake, but it'll match the one I already have" the marmoset laughed at Luca's expression, all the others laughing as well._

"_Fine, just let us go"_

_Mauro shook his head, sitting on his throne once more, a mix between amusement and boredom on his eyes "I want the little bird to bring it to me"_

_My heart was pounding in my chest by just watching the death glare Luca was giving Mauro; if looks could kill, Mauro would have exploded into a million pieces. A marmoset from the group kicked the fake and damaged ring my way, making my heart pound even harder. Luca was just moments away from jumping on Mauro, probably with dark intentions, but the marmoset holding him back didn't let him. He finally looked away, defeated, making another marmoset push me in Mauro's direction._

_On my way there I realized that our ring could be adjusted on different sizes, getting an idea out of me. Mauro extended his arm and gave me a smug smile while I just looked down. I only had one shot at this. I slid the ring on his arm and just as it passed the wrist I pushed down on it, making it reduce its size considerably. Mauro was so caught up mocking Luca that he didn't notice this, giving me my chance._

_Just as Luca was released and made his way over to me, I pulled the actual diamond ring, passing over the now small fake ring, and getting it off of Mauro's wrist without him noticing. I placed the piece of jewelry behind my back, stumbling backwards quickly until I bumped into Luca. He felt the ring pressed between the two of us, surprise flashing in his eyes for just an instant._

"_You got what you wanted, we'll be leaving now" Luca walked backwards with me still pressed against his chest, earning more than one suspicious look; one of them a little more suspicious than the rest._

"What happened?" Nico looked like a child being told a bedtime story, his whole body showing expectation. I chuckled once at just how cute he looked like that, getting my composure back a second later.

"We got caught. But Mauro was so impressed with my job that he offered us all a deal: we would 'work' for him and in exchange we would get the biggest hollow in their territory. Luca said yes right away"

"So even as a kid you had a natural talent for stealing" I shoved Nico playfully in an attempt to wipe that smirk of his face, but it only got bigger.

"That was luck, nothing else"

"So what exactly did you do working for the marmosets?"

"At first we helped them with their usual robs by distracted tourists, but with time we started breaking into hotels" Nico's beak fell open, a look of total disbelief on his face "What?"

"Hotels?" he taunted, like I would tell him it was all a joke. But I wasn't joking in the least.

"Yeah. You'd be surprised how easy it is for a bird our size. We could get into the vents and there was this one hotel in which we fitted under the doors. There was this guy that was able to open any lock; doors, jewel boxes, safes, you name it. He could crack them all open. Luca kicked him out after a few years, but he was really good. I've always wondered what happened to him…"

"Okay, now you're plucking my feathers. There is no way any of this happened"

I shrugged slightly "Believe it or not. That's how I got so good, to the point of snatching that cap right off your head" he held his bottle cap closer in a protective way, making me smile "but seriously, I promised to tell you the truth. And so far, not a single lie has left my beak"

"Alright… let's say I believe you, for the time being"

"Fair enough" I smirked at him, still amused by his expression that said he didn't really believe anything I was telling him. I know I wouldn't really believe myself in his place, but maybe with some time he'll see some sense in my story "Another question?" I've answered three so far"

"Hmmm… I want to know how Rafael stepped in the picture"

"All right. Rafael… we met him when I was ten. It had been a year since we had left Luca, and we were just walking around in the jungle…"

"_I'm hungry… Remind me why we couldn't stay at the fruit market again" _

"_Because last time we were there they caught us" I repeated for the tenth time in the last two hours, a memory of an angry man trying to hit us with a rolled up magazine flashing in my eyes. I shook my head immediately, focusing in how hungry I was. We had been looking for something to eat since midday, but with no luck. This was proving harder than either of us anticipated._

_And then, out of nowhere, a shrub full of berries appeared in front of us._

"_Please tell me I'm not hungry enough to hallucinate that"_

"_No, I see it too" we didn't need an invitation to jump and start eating, at last! Everything was peaceful until Anna yelped, jumping back slightly._

"_What?" I asked trough a mouthful of berries._

"_There's someone in there" I swallowed and gave her a look before heading her way, my sister still clearly surprised. I moved away some leafs and found that there was, indeed, someone inside the bush. Both our expressions softened as a small toucan chick hopped out into the light._

"_Awww! Well, aren't you the cutest thing ever" Anna immediately beamed at him, lowering herself to be eye to eye to the young bird. I smiled at him before looking around, looking for anything that might resemble an adult toucan._

"_Are you alone little guy?"_

"_Maybe his parents are somewhere n- OWW!" Anna jumped back, the feathers that used to be on her forewing now on the toucan's beak. I looked over in disbelief, not sure if my eyes were lying to me. However, before I could ask anything the small toucan spit out the yellow feathers and jumped._

"_NOW!" in that moment two other toucan chicks jumped from the same bush, attacking us without a second thought. Anna and I screamed but to no avail, they had us just where they wanted and neither Anna or I had the heart to hurt them; even if they weren't having a problem torturing us. They also seemed to be having a blast._

_The attack, that was starting to look like a massacre at this point, was stopped by a deep voice._

"_Kids! What have I told you about this?"_

_The three small chicks got off from us and hid on the bush once more, giggling all the way. I somehow managed to get into a sitting position, holding my head and groaning; I am SO gonna get a headache. _

"_Sorry about that, are you alright?" I looked up to find that the owner of the voice was a toucan himself, but much older than the chicks that just jumped us, probably his father._

"_Yeah, it's okay. We just lost a few feathers, nothing serious"_

"_Talk for yourself, I think I lost part of my wing" Anna cradled her soar wing while I pulled myself up. The toucan gave her a small smile._

"_Well, we should probably check that. Come on, my hollow's right there" he pointed to a tall tree, the entrance of a hollow hidden behind a branch. He took off, probably expecting us to follow him. Anna and I shrugged before following carefully, ready to make a run for it if necessary. We're not used to kindness between strangers, but he might change that. Might._

"…after that he took us in, and when Anna turned sixteen we got a hollow all to our selves. I'm surprised he did what he did, considering he already had children and that we were complete strangers to each other, but I guess that's just Rafael"

"That's Ralfy all right"

Nico chuckled a few times, his wings crossed over his chest. I sighed looking over at the stream that flowed a few centimeters away from us. The light that reflected on the water was an orange color, and one look up at the small pieces of sky visible through the vines confirmed that it was getting late faster than I had expected. I felt slightly uneasy, but tried not to show it to the other canary, afraid he might ask; I do have to answer two more questions, so best not to risk it.

"Two more questions Nico" my tone gave away part of my uneasiness, much to my dismay.

"Someone's impatient"

"Says the guy that pinned me to the ground this morning" Nico blinked once, his expression priceless at the moment. He quickly tried to justify his actions but I started laughing, cutting him short. He looked away, mumbling something undecipherable as I just laughed harder. I bit back my laughs and placed my wing on his shoulder "Come on it was a joke"

"I know that" the hint of a grin that I knew all too well made its way into his beak, getting a grin into my own beak. I moved my wing from his shoulder, leaving it there a second longer than needed, and placed it in my lap.

"So, what's your next question?"

"Tell me how you got intoxicated last week" I frowned, the question itself not making any sense. They had all reached a conclusion after I woke up; I was there when they did. There's no way Nico knows something else happened… right?

"You know, I got conf-"

"Confused with something you ate? Come on bonita, your too smart for that" I blinked once, not really knowing how to take that "I want the truth Kalli, and I know you remember what happened"

I watched him for a second, his face relaxed and patient but the intensity in his eyes sending chills up and down my spine. If there was a word that could describe how I felt it would be busted, but it sounded too simple compared to how complex my emotions were.

I started talking, feeling somehow empty being caught in such a lie, but the look on his face didn't change; not until I mentioned Luca at least. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly and his shoulders stiffened, but he didn't say a word as I told him everything that had happened after we came back from the beach.

I told him everything, from Luca's threat to how they poisoned me with Deathly Nightshade. Throughout the story he didn't move at all, except for when the corner of his beak twitched, probably as a reflex. But that changed the moment I mentioned my deadline. It didn't take him long to figure out that I only had hours, according to the few glimpses of orange sky we could get.

"Dear God Kalli, are you crazy? He could've killed you! He could kill you! And not only that, you lied to us!" Nico was on his feet faster than lighting, so caught up pacing around and pointing at me that he even forgot his bottle cap on the ground "You lied to me!" I stood, trying to get him to calm down but to no avail; he wasn't listening to me anymore. I had never seen Nico like this, and I doubt anyone else has. This is not like Nico at all, but I can't blame him; if anything it just makes me feel guiltier. You know you messed up big time when a bird like Nico gets like _this_.

"Nico, please calm d-"

"No. You're telling me this guy will show up any moment now and take you away, and even more, you're doing it just now, so do _not_ tell me to calm down" he pointed a single flight feather at me during the whole thing, making me feel like my heart and soul shrunk "Why didn't you tell me?"

"He threatened you, all of you. He would have killed you!" it wasn't my intention to raise my voice, but it was the only way to be heard over his objections.

"No he wouldn't! Even if he had brought along Mauro and the other marmosets, we could have handled them!"

"I couldn't take that risk!" both our voices could have been heard by everyone nearby, but if someone did hear, I never found out.

"Why not?"

"Because I love you!" I meant to speak in plural, include Anna and the others and not just the bird in front of me, but I failed; later on I would realize the weight my own words carried, along with the expression that took over Nico's features, but right now I was oblivious to both "And the bear thought of loosing you terrified me! And I'm not talking about the kind of fear you get when someone spooks you in the dark; It's the kind of fear that starts at the base of your skull and travels all the way down your spine, that leaves a feeling of numbness and emptiness in every single one of your bones and that manages to make you feel like you'll die rooted to the spot because the air just won't come back into your lungs; the type of fear that makes you doubt your own freaking sanity. So no, I couldn't take that risk Nico, and I'm sorry if I had to lie to you, I really am, but I thought that if I died at least I could avoid dragging you down with me!"

At that point I wasn't sure what surprised the most: the fact that I said all of that with just a couple of intakes of breath, surprising myself crying halfway through my angry explanation or the speed in which Nico's face fell before he pulled me into a hug.

He soothed me, his wings over mine in my vain attempt to hug myself. He kept apologizing even if I was the one that had lied, the one that had caused all of this trouble in the first place, making me shake my head over and over again. I felt vulnerable, like an open book that anyone could read, unable to hold anything to myself anymore. I would have been able to lie, or at least to hold myself, with any other bird, but it had to be Nico with those dark chocolate eyes that make it so hard for me to think of anything believable.

"Kalli, I… if you would have told us…"

I sniffed, my words coming out muffled since I refused to take my head off his chest "I couldn't… I was too scared he would hurt any of you"

We stayed quiet for a while, my uneven gasps going back into normal breaths, before Nico broke the silence.

"Listen Kalli, if you want to go home I'll understand"

"What?" I unburied my face from his feathers and looked up at him in something similar to disbelief "But, what about your question?"

"We can do that later, I…"

"No. It's the least you deserve after all the lies I told you" I skipped the thought that was probably lingering on both our minds; it was sure as hell crashing into my skull at the moment. And that was that 'later', a simple word with an equally simple meaning now seemed like asking for immortality: no one has that much time, and I'm certainly no exception.

There was a moment of silence, an inner battle clear in Nico's eyes before he looked down slightly "Are you sure?"

"Yeah" the word itself came out as a sigh "but can we sit down?"

"Sure" he offered his wing and helped me sit "ladies first" even if my smile was genuine, the small laugh that followed was almost fake. I cleared my throat hoping that it wouldn't happen again as Nico leaned on the rock, immediately arching his back and pulling his bottle cap from behind him. He looked at it in surprise, like he had just remembered he left it on the ground before putting it on its' rightful place atop of his head.

"Nico, before I say anything you need to promise me something" a nod was my signal to keep talking "Don't leave until I'm done. After that, you can do whatever you want"

"Why would I leave?"

I took a deep breath, not meeting his eyes for anything in the world "Because the reason why Luca hates me so much, is because, in his eyes, Anna and I killed Isabel" there was stunned silence, brown eyes widening as the sentence sunk on him.

"What?" who knew a single choked word could express such a mix of confusion and disbelief. A second humorless, dry laughter escaped me, now on the form of a chuckle. I just wanted this to end as fast as possible; it's being hard enough as it is. My voice was emotionless as I spoke.

"We were working for Mauro one night, I remember he chose carnival so that we could sneak on a five star hotel without the risk of getting caught by tourists, and to give us more time to take some of the heaviest things out. But the whole thing was set for disaster from the very beginning; it was a hotel where we had been caught once, by a very aggressive man, it was Isabel's first mission, Luca had been hurt last week. We should have known something bad would happen…"

"_Alright, let's do this quickly, I don't want to be here for long" Luca focused almost immediately on the jewel box on the bathroom while the rest of us scattered around to do our own jobs. Maia and Bruno settled on the safe on the closet, testing the few things they learned from Stephan on the years he was with us; I'll never get why he had to leave. Anna was on her stomach, keeping watch through the small crack under the door. Meanwhile Isabel and I looked around on the drawers and suitcases under the bed._

_I struggled with one of the small locks on the zipper of a black suitcase, while Isabel had already opened the white bag and was searching through the clothing in hopes of finding something._

"_You learn fast" I commented, finally cracking the lock open._

"_Stephan was a good teacher" I didn't miss the nervous tone on her voice, but decided not to comment on it; we all got nervous the first time we did something like this. I gave her a small reassuring smile before focusing on the task at wing, grinning at the sight of a golden watch at the bottom of the suitcase._

"_Isabel, come help me will you?"_

"_What'd you find?" I showed her my treasure, earning a smile from her "Wow. Is it real?"_

"_I hope so" she giggled slightly, making me smile. Even being seven she still gives the impression of being much younger._

"_Fake or not, it's heavy" just as we were pulling it out, steps were heard outside of the room, getting all of us to freeze._

"…Turns out there had been a woman from the cleaning staff on the room next to ours'; I'll never get why they were cleaning the room at that hour, but since she just stepped out, Anna didn't see her coming. She came in, and… Well, let's just say everything went downhill from there…"

_I pressed myself and Isabel into the very corner of the suit case, praying that everyone had had enough time to hide as the light in the room flicked on. We could hear movement on the room from the person closing doors. When she got to our hiding spot my heart started racing at a speed I though impossible, my mind in full panic mode._

_My panic increased tenfold when the suitcase moved, but luckily the person causing my terror only closed it, making Isabel and I sigh silently in relief. There was a small unclosed gap where we could watch part of the room. I opened it slightly, just enough for the two of us to peek through. Bruno and Maia were hiding on a pair of sneakers next to the bed, barely hidden from the woman pacing around the room, Anna and Luca nowhere to be found._

_There was a collective sigh of relief when the room was dark once more, the woman heading out. But just as the door was about to close fully there was a small sound coming from the bathroom, the almost soundless fall of something hard into the floor. Unluckily, that small sound was enough for the lights to turn back on, leaving us all to watch in fear as the short woman walked into the bathroom._

"…I still don't know how, but Luca got caught. To tell you that the woman was freaked out is an understatement. She tried to hit Luca with anything she could get her hands on, and Luca was just trying to dodge every attack even with his recent wound. And the moment he was in danger, Isabel was the first to jump on his rescue…"

"_Isabel wait!" I tried, and failed, to grab the bird that used to be next to me as she shot herself out of the suitcase to rescue her brother. In less than a second the room was the epitome of chaos, all of us flying in different directions trying to avoid the frenetic attacks from the woman and attacking her ourselves, all the while defending each other. We had noticed too late that the window we used as an entrance had been closed, leaving no escape._

_The first ones hit were Anna and Luca, one knocking the other after receiving a hit. Luckily they landed under the bed, taking momentary cover of what was happening out here. Next was Maia, who managed to get under the wooden dresser before the woman could hit her again. I saw a broom swinging my way, closing my eyes expecting a blow that never came; well not the one I was waiting for at least._

_I felt someone pushing me, my eyes opening in time to see Bruno before I crashed into him. We both landed on the floor ungracefully, him on top of me. I didn't have time to push him away to see what had happened, just being able to hear as the mirror over the dresser broke into a million pieces._

I took a deep breath, tears stinging my eyes before I continued "Isabel pushed me out of the way. She took the hit I was supposed to get, and crashed into the mirror. Only Maia, Bruno and I saw what happened, but even like that I still don't believe it. The woman left, thankfully, running and screaming like crazy…"

"_Isabel!" The small girl was on the ground, back arched in pain and wings around her chest. Her breathing came out uneven, edging on gasps._

"_I… can't… breath" she choked out before having a coughing fit that looked quite painful. Before I could say anything I was pushed aside, Luca storming past me and holding his sister the moment he saw her._

"_What the hell happened! You were supposed to keep watch!"_

"_I was… she came out of nowhe-"_

"_Don't give me that shit, people don't just fucking materialize!" Anna flinched at Luca's tone of voice. It wasn't the first time we had seen Luca angry, we had witnessed it a few times in the past, but never before had we seen him this angry, much less being in the receiving end of said emotion._

"_Luca we have to go. Isabel needs help" Bruno stated as he took Isabel from Luca's wings. The later looked like he would lash out on the Blackcap, but a hiss of pain stopped him. He was even more hurt now than he had been this morning. Just as Maia opened the window and left with Bruno tailing her, Luca made a sharp turn on his heels and grabbed Anna's wing._

"_You better have an explanation when we get back home" it sounded like a hiss, coldness on every word before he flew out, leaving Anna rooted to the spot._

"…When we got back, a marmoset started taking care of Isabel. We founded out that besides the cuts from the mirror, she had a broken rib and a pierced lung. She started coughing up blood and then she… she…" my voice broke and I founded myself unable to continue. I covered my face with my wings, not wanting to look at Nico's expression at the time. I heard him taking a deep breath, probably to say something, but I beat him to it "After that, Luca lost it. Nothing in this world could have avoided what was coming; so when he asked to talk with all of us, I already had an idea of what would happen…"

"_This is all your fault! Are you fucking blind or what! I only asked you to keep watch and look what happened!" Luca shook Anna as strong as he could, my sister's eyes widening in return. She was shaking badly, a few tears already streaming down her face._

"_Luca stop, please! It wasn't her fault" My voice came out a little too loud for my taste, getting all the attention on me. Not losing his grip on my sister Luca turned my way, poison and heartbreak clear as he spoke._

"_Then whose fault is it?" before I could even think of an answer, that probably wouldn't have come anyways, Maia spoke._

"_It's her fault" Her eyes aimed at me, a clear glare in them, as everyone else looked in shock._

"_Kalli?" Luca sounded almost broken as he choked out my name. Maia's eyes got a dangerous glint on them, making me feel like if I was made of crystal; one small hit and I'll shatter into pieces. _

"_I didn't do anything" my voice was so shaky that it was hard to understand me._

"_Don't lie to them Kalli, I saw you pushing Isabel to save yourself"_

"…I still don't know why she did it. But Luca believed her, and that was all that mattered at the moment…"

"_I didn't do it! Bruno you saw everything, tell him she's lying!" I practically screamed. Luca's wing was pressing against my neck, still cornering me against a wall, as we all looked at the Blackcap waiting for an answer. He looked from Maia to me a few times, his emotionless mask breaking a little bit to show doubt. He finally looked down at the ground, the mask back on as he spoke._

"_I didn't see anything"_

"_So you lied about that too?" Luca looked at me in disbelief, a thousand different emotions flashing through his eyes; hurt, anger, frustration, confusion, shock and heartbreak, all of them at the same time._

"_No, Luca list-"_

"_Don't lie to me!" He screamed, silencing everyone in the room "Tell me the truth and don't you dare getting anyone else involved"_

_I stood there, motionless and speechless, not even able to swallow at how scared I was. My silence earned me a disgusted look from the bird holding me "You're such a coward. I trusted you, like family, and this is what I get in return?" He sounded destroyed, like he wanted to cry but his anger wouldn't let him "Fine, so be it" he threw me to one side, where I got caught by Maia before he headed for my sister. Anna looked panic, as the same thought crossed all of our minds._

_I didn't think it twice before jerking one of my wings free and elbowing Maia on the stomach. She released me, a loud gasp escaping her beak, and I darted forward, pushing Luca away before grabbing my sister and leaving the hollow, flying away as fast as we could._

"…They chased us until we reached the parade, and we hid on one of the floats. I don't know how we lost them, but I remember being so scared that they would find us… we hid in the city after that, surviving how we could for a week before risking going back into the jungle. We got a small hollow as far away from Luca as we could and managed to avoid him… up until now". I ran a wing through my feathers "I should have known they'd find us one day"

"I… I… I can't believe it"

"Well it's the truth. You're in front of a _murderer_" My voice was empty, like part of me had left my body. Nico's brow knitted together, eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at me.

"Kalli, you didn't push her"

"No, but I didn't push her _out_ of the way either. It makes me just as responsible"

"No it doesn't" I scoffed, looking away from him. It was getting darker by the minute, pushing me closer to the edge than I already was "Kalli, listen to me, you did not-"

"The hit was for me Nico, not for her! I should be the one dead, I should have been the one pushing her away from danger, not the other way around. That's why Luca hates me… Hell, now that you know the truth you probably hate me too" the last part was a little more private, a result of my darkened and guilty conscious, but Nico was just close enough to hear me. I closed my eyes, fighting back tears that kept blurring my view.

"What? Kalli no, I… look at me" He pulled me to face him, but I closed my eyes even tighter. The look of hate that Luca gave me that night… imagining it on Nico's face was almost physically painful. If I opened my eyes and it turned out to be true, I wouldn't be able to handle it. I just wouldn't.

"No Nico, I don't need this right now. I can't deal with you h-"

The grip on my shoulders tightened, and with a swift movement all my words got stuck on my throat. It took me half a second to realize that Nico's beak was pressing against mine, effectively shutting me up. A thousand things rushed through my mind in just half a second, but I silenced them all, trying to focus on what was going on right now.

The kiss was gentle and careful, none of us needing more at the time; I was too occupied trying to memorize every single detail of it to try and do something else. Like how his wing traveled from my shoulder to my next, or how he would tilt his head to the right by pure instinct. The feeling of being in free fall flooded my stomach, the simple movement of a single flight feather from him able to send electric shocks through me.

He pulled away before I could memorize the entire feeling, leaving me wishing, and wanting, more time. I smiled as he pressed his forehead against my own, focusing on my breathing instead of the thought that kept nagging me; that one that made me realize just for how long I had been head over heels for the guy, and how dumb I was for not noticing before. Or maybe I did and I'm just _that_ clueless.

Our eyes opened in sync, making him look funny as our eyes met; he was too close for me to focus on him the right way, but I just can't bring myself from pulling away.

"So beautiful but such a fool" he shook his head slightly "or maybe it was me giving the wrong impression. I could never hate you, no matter what you did. Or in this case, didn't do" He cupped my cheek with his wings, making me smile sweetly at him. I felt a tear escaping my eye, so I pulled away slightly and wiped it away. I fanned my face to scare away the rest of my tears, Nico and I laughing quietly at the expression I made. But all laughter stopped when someone started clapping.

"Well isn't this just heart touching? Almost kills me to have to break the moment" you could have heard a needle drop, even in the grass, in the silence that followed those words. That voice. _No, not with Nico still here…_ My eyes widened and my expression turned into the epitome of sheer terror, my lungs and heart stopping their vital functions. Nico looked surprised and confused, but nothing more; he even turned to see who was there, obviously not recognizing the new comer. I just looked at Nico, trying to telepathically tell him to go, to escape while he still had time; but overall, to tell him how sorry I was for what I knew would follow.

The other canary looked at me, the short glance he got of me enough to make him understand what was going on, but before he could say anything Bruno jumped on top of him, knocking him to the ground with enough force to send his bottle cap flying off his head. Just as he was being pinned into the ground by both Maia and Bruno, a set of talons wrapped around my neck and pulled me up, putting me eye to eye with Luca.

He smiled, a complete new type of cruelty flashing through his eyes as he whispered harshly "But you and I know that _almost_ won't stop me, right Kalli?"

* * *

**TADA! They had their first kiss! What'd you guys think? Excited? Mind blown? Wanting to throw me off a cliff? And what did you think of Kalli's story? Too much? (I cried while writing it, I just fell in love with Isabel) Not enough? Please tell me what you thought.**

**Also, I've been thinking that maybe the 'adventure' genre doesn't fit this story as well... What do you think?**

**Review time!**

**The Feather of Pepa: Thank you so much for the kind words, they made me smile like crazy :). Hehehe, maybe I was a little rough on Sophie, but I had a blast writing it *evil smile*. I think I should do something about Damian; IDK, something that shows that he can be a little sweeter (?). I kinda used one of your questions, it was so funny, I just had to. **

**EmmerzK: IKR? I don't why I like it too, but it's always nicer when they're older than girls. I think if Damian did that, all the others would chase him all the way out of Rio XD. OMG, I used all of your question ideas, they practically built the whole thing; I hope Nico's reaction to Luca wasn't to OOC... *Totally worried about it*. **

**charlie167: Thanks, I'm really glad you're loving the whole thing. Thank you so much for mentioning that, I just changed it on the summary; the whole thing is before the movie (Blu is still in the US, driking hot chocolate with 6 marshmallows) and the sequel (if there is one) will be during the movie. Sorry for confusing you, and again thanks for the review (AWESOME profile pic BTW)**

**ILOVENICO1000X: Hehehe, now I feel all guilty for making Sophie do that (well actually it was Miguel... forget it, my conscience is clean XD). I wanted her to ruffle his feathers too, but it felt so out of character from her; but they kissed in this one (kinda makes up for it... I think... I hope). He didn't have time to do anything, Bruno's too fast (I picture him like a ninja XD) and OMG you just gave me the best idea in the entire world! Thank you :D**

**Guest (Niah09): you forgot your name again LOL. Mousetrap? I don't know why, but I had the worst flashback ever when you mentioned the cat (do NOT watch 'The Collector'... I still have nightmares...). IKR! there's guy that just earn glance after glance, they're just that cute. As you can see, Kalli is a little clueless... just like me XD. I wouldn't have done it either, I would have died at the sight of the waterfall itself (I'm afraid of amusement parks XD). And Luca got here (is it normal that I love him the most after Kalli?) And YES, I LOVE THE HUNGER GAMES, I FINISHED ALL THREE BOOOKS LIKE IN A WEEK! I LOVE PEETA! (now you got me all excited XD) you have to listen to a parody of 'sexy and I know it' that's called 'Peeta and I know it' I laughed so hard when I heard it.**

**Hey guys I was thinking that this could have a sequel. Any ideas? (I just have a rough draft, so anything is welcomed). As always, I invite you to leave a review and tell me what's on your minds. They are always appreciated. **

**Don't own: Rio.**

**Own: All of my OCs.**


	16. Prisoners

**OMGWHYDIDTHISTAKESOLONGBSKJA BFINSJBNCWJIBCWJCBUW. *HUGE sigh* okay, now that that's out of my system, I can speak clearly. I cannot believe it took me this long to write this, I'm sorry. I'll try to write faster now, I promise.**

**And well, short chapter is short, hopefully next one won't be this short (I hope)**

* * *

"Don't give me that look Kalli" Luca gave me an innocent look, but anyone could see the smugness in his smile "I promised a week, and a week you got; I even counted the minutes, no joke" he perfected his act and smiled like a small kid. In response he only received a cold glare from me and Nico. Bruno had a hold on the later, one wing wrapped tightly around Nico's neck and the other pulling his wing backwards, while I was on the ground –after Luca so gently shoved me- with my throat on Maia's talons. Luca gave the Nightingale a look and I was pulled up, my neck now on her wing in a hold similar to the one Bruno had on Nico.

"Too bad you wasted the time I gave you" Luca sounded like he was just thinking out loud as he made his way towards Nico. Once he was close enough, Nico tried to make a move against Luca, but only got his wing pulled by Bruno in what looked like a painful angle. Luca simply raised one of his brows in amusement before tilting Nico's chin up with a single flight feather "you could do so much better than this, find someone worthy" this time his comment was clearly aimed at me, his eyes meeting the daggers I was sending with mine.

Nico snapped his head away from Luca's touch and looked at him defiantly "Like you I assume"

Luca sent the male canary a smile, a strange combination between amusement and surprise. Next Nico received a punch straight in the stomach. He tried to bend himself forward, but Bruno wouldn't let him; not much at least. I immediately tried to jump on Luca, but the chocking sensation I got when I took a step was too much to handle. Nico had one eye clam shut, the other one barely open when Luca stage whispered at him.

"I was talking to the lady. Don't you know it's rude to barge in other birds' conversations?" somehow Nico managed to glare with his open eye, but remained silent, most likely biting back all the comments he had in mind. The silence itself was enough to satisfy Luca, who patted Nico's head roughly before walking my way.

"Well, this was definitely not part of the plan" Luca pointed over his shoulder at the other canary "but I never let go of an opportunity"

"You could let him go" I received a look that made me check my words in case I had said something weird because of the panic that controlled my mind. Took me a full three seconds to realize that the only one besides me that didn't found the statement weird was Nico "He has nothing to in all of this"

"Is that so? Then he's just a passerby? An innocent bird? Wrong place wrong time?" Luca had his wings crossed over his chest, pacing from left to right in front of me. My expression was almost skeptical as I nodded once, carefully and slowly, just in case. This was followed by me closing my eyes, biting my tongue and regretting my choice of words from before. He got a thoughtful expression, clearly fake "That's funny. Sounds like someone I used to know. Remember her Kalli?" the hate in his eyes was almost too much to look at, but for the two seconds in which our eyes met I could see something. Something behind the hate and the poison, behind that mask he used for the role of captor. Heart break.

Unfortunately that only worked to increase my initial worry. Because a heartbroken bird is capable of unspeakable things, and right now, we're trapped by him.

"Listen, Luca?" Nico's voice caught our attention. He seemed to be looking for the right words, searching for those that would piss Luca off. The whole thing was like walking on ice; on wrong move, and you'll end up under "I'm no one to talk, I wasn't there, but I hardly believe Kalli did what you think she did"

"You're right, you're no one to talk ab-" Nico kept talking like if Luca hadn't said anything, much to Luca's annoyance.

"But even if she did do it, this isn't going to get you anywhere. I mean, you kill us both, and then what? You think this will make all that blind rage disappear, or that hole that keeps sucking your soul go away?" then Nico stepped on a layer of ice too thin for him, sending all of us into shock "Do you think this will bring her back to you? You really think killing us will…"

"Shut up" Luca's voice came out as a warning growl, his wings clenching in fists in what seemed to be his last bit of patience towards Nico. I gave the latter a pleading look, trying to tell him to stop before he pushed too far, but the other canary simply raised his voice, keeping it even and calm somehow, to be heard over Luca.

"Will solve all your problems? If anything, it will only make you feel worse, emptier than before"

"Shut up!" Luca shot himself forward, Bruno moving back just in time to avoid the attack. I let out a chocked gasp when Nico was pushed against the wall of rock that kept part of this place hidden from the rest of the jungle "Who do _you_ think you are to talk like that? You have _no_ idea how I-"

"Yes I do" Nico's gaze matched, if not surpassed, Luca's. The later seemed genuinely surprised at the tone on Nico's voice, but the canary's expression didn't change "And trust me when I tell you that this won't make you feel better"

"And I'm sure you know what will" Luca snapped with sarcasm dripping off every word.

"No. No one does. But blaming someone, yourself or others, won't get you anywhere. Sometimes we have to accept that things happen, by a higher power or bad luck makes no difference, and move on" Nico kept a strong look, his eyes never leaving Luca's, not even to blink. Luca huffed and pressed Nico harder against the rock. The Stonechat's mask of indifference was braking, faster than I would have expected, letting glimpses of his own instability show.

"And what makes you think you're such an expert on the subject?" I knew that anything would make Luca snap, placing Nico in the most dangerous position. But at that moment Nico's expression changed drastically. It morphed from the serious, stern look into a half grin, much like Luca's usual smiles. A single humorless chuckle escaped the singer before his brows raised, his next words sarcastic yet calm.

"What, you think you're the only bird in Rio who's lost a sibling?"

There was a mortal silence that no one knew how to break for a few seconds. Luca's back straightened visibly, his hold on Nico going limp for a moment. He looked at the canary as if trying to decipher the words he said, like he couldn't quite place them in the right order so that they would make sense. Bruno, who had been looking at the ground, looked at Nico intently, his brows wrinkled in confusion and a slight amount of surprise. Maia's only response was to increase the pressure applied at my neck, but I didn't care.

I looked at Nico, even if he was still focused on Luca, trying to make sense of what he just said. His last sentence, his tone, his expression, everything repeated in my mind over and over, practically making me dizzy. I didn't know Nico had had siblings, let alone lost one. Neither Rafael nor Pedro had mentioned it, but then again that's not the type of information that you give away, especially since it's not yours to tell. I was sure that my skull was about to crack open from trying to figure this out, but the moment of silence ended, forcing me to focus on my surroundings.

Luca let out a long whistle, one that cut through the dense atmosphere on the place.

"Guess you're not that much of a waste after all" he got dangerously close to the other bird, a smug smile on his face "maybe even worth some of my time" he then addressed the rest of us, a content expression taking over his features in that speed that always surprises me "Who's up for a little trip? I got bored of this place anyways" he gave Maia and Bruno a small nod, waving at me as if saying goodbye.

Maia's hold on my neck tightened to the point where I couldn't breathe, an amount of pressure on my clavicle that made me think it would snap in any moment. I managed to see that Bruno was doing the same thing to Nico, who managed to lock eyes with me for a mere second. The sea of emotions in his eyes matched the way I felt; at least until my thought stared to become blurry because of the lack of oxygen. Luca was inspecting Nico's bottle cap when I started getting tunnel vision, finally tossing it aside like it was nothing. Nico went limp after a fair struggle with Bruno, and I followed him into unconsciousness a few seconds later.

* * *

When I woke up, I was met by darkness and nothing more. I could see how every time I exhaled, it would come out as a white cloud, dissipating and reappearing with a slightly unsteady rhythm. I slowly started to take in my surroundings, tired from waking up after being unconscious for who knows how long.

We were not in the jungle anymore but rather indoors, four walls and a door surrounding me. The paint, that had clearly been a white color once, was now a dirty brown and peeling off the wall at some places. I was laying down on something cold, metallic and with a weird patter that stood out, making it highly uncomfortable to be on the position I was. I don't know how I got into a sitting position, but the moment I did the world spun and twisted a few times. I closed my eyes, suppressing the sensation I had in the pit of my stomach and took a few deep breaths. The chilling air cleared my head in a few minutes, finally allowing me to open my eyes without feeling like gravity was shifting.

I looked down and was met by thin metallic bars. By the time I looked up I had already figured out I was locked in a cage with a division in the middle, splitting the cage in halves. A series of images flashed before my eyes as I remembered what exactly had happened, and then it struck me; I wasn't alone. It didn't take me long to find Nico, still out cold and in the other side of the set of bars dividing the cage.

I rushed there, ignoring my weak knees, and reached out for him. Fortunately he was laying right in the corner, right next to the division and where I could touch him with ease. I shook him softly but quickly, suddenly afraid that Luca would pop out of nowhere.

"Nico" the word drew itself in the air, in the shape of a small fog "Nico, wake up. Come on, wake up" finally he groaned, opening one eye before the other. He focused on me after a few seconds, murmuring my name as if he wasn't sure what was happening. He sat down, with less difficulty than me and ran a wing through his head, now uncovered without his bottle cap. His eyes suddenly widened, his eyes loosing focus as everything fell back on him. He all but threw himself at the bars separating us, looking at me with fear and desperation.

"Kalli! Where are we? What happened?"

"I don't know" I shuddered because of the cold "I woke up here after Maia knocked me out. It's a house or something like that"

"An apartment actually" Luca's voice startled both Nico and I, the Stonechat casual leaning back against my side of the cage. Nico tried to pass a wing to pull me back slightly, a protective act that I appreciated in the back of my mind. Luca simply examined the object in his wings, making Nico glare daggers at him "I don't get how you can wear this thing. Isn't it, like, uncomfortable? Besides it looks dumb… no offense" the last part dripped sarcasm, making Nico's eyes narrow even more.

"Where are we Luca?" my tone was stern, but the low temperature played against me, making my voice slightly shaky.

"I already told you, an apartment. It'll take your friends a while to notice you're gone, and it'll take them even longer to find that weird place where I found you, let's not even talk about finding this place. But don't fret; we'll have some fun in the mean time. You see, this place is full of surprises" the lights turned on quite abruptly, blinding me momentarily and making me cover my face as a reflex. I blinked a few times, a black and red spot slowly morphing into Luca. Maia was standing on the light switch, threatening to turn them off again. Bruno was nowhere to be found, which was weird.

Luca crossed his wings over his chest, leaning further into the bars of the cage, in a way that remembered me of the way Nico would lean on a wall to the point where it looked like he would fall on the ground. I immediately kicked myself inwardly for ever comparing them.

"You see, since this is an apartment, we have all the services this has to offer; gas, water, electric power, and some other interesting stuff. Like this," he fluttered up into a white box on the wall "funny how humans love the illusion of controlling everything around them. Even the temperature" I suddenly understood why this place was so cold. Luca was literally freezing the place at will. If I focused enough, I could hear, not only the way the chilling air came out through the air vents, but also someone walking in the apartment above ours. They had probably found the abandoned place with the cage inside it, and decided not to waste the opportunity, something common in Luca.

He clicked a few buttons, making the air slightly colder as Maia turned the lights off again. I regretted not paying more attention at the room in search for an escape route, but that wouldn't have mattered since we had to open the cage first. The window opened, the warm Rio air entering the room in a powerful breeze; it was like Mother Nature didn't want us to freeze to death.

"Well, you should rest a little, we have a busy day tomorrow" I noticed Luca was wearing Nico's cap, almost like mocking the canary in yet another way "Feel free to make yourselves at home. You'll be here for a long while anyways" with that said, he tipped the cap, the motion looking horrible on him, and closed the window with a soft click.

My mind started filling with regret for many things; for not telling anyone about Luca earlier; for not taking a look at the place before the light were out; for not fighting harder against Maia; but overall, for getting Nico into a mess that wasn't his.

"Nico, I'm so sorry, I…"

"Don't; it's okay. We'll get out of this one you hear me? We'll be fine" he flashed a reassuring smile before inspecting the cage closer, even with the little amount of light. Seeing that he wasn't focusing on my, I let my face fell in worry.

Because as much as I would like to agree, I just can't at this point. I'm not even sure if I would be able to tell him something along the lines of 'everything's gonna be okay' or 'we'll be fine'. So I remained quiet, joining Nico in the task of inspecting our prison in the search for something that we knew we wouldn't find. Finally we fell asleep, trying our best to hold each other through the bars to keep ourselves company and out of the cold.

I took a good look at his face, a peaceful smile on his beak, the missing bottle cap softening his features even more, before drifting off to sleep myself.

* * *

**And that's it for now. Um, Nico, I think you said something you didn't want to... And I think Kalli intends to ask about it later.**

**OMG guys, so much to share, and you probably don't want to know, but I'll share it anyways :D. I GOT A NICO PLUSH! WITH BOTTLE CAP AND ALL (Angry Bird style) X3 he's the cutest thing ever! And I just watched 'Brave', such a great movie, and with a beautiful soundtrack.**

**Anyways, no more rambles, on with the reviews:**

**ILOVENICO1000X: I don't know why I did it so sad, I treat my OC so bad (sorry Kalli :)) I was worried beyond belief about the kiss, so I'm really glad you liked it. No one's gonna kill no one... for the time being at least *evil smile*. Jokes, jokes, I don't think I'm going to kill anyone (I think). I think their a little young to have kids, but maybe I can come up with something, thanks for the idea.**

**EmmerzK: Thank you, for the longest review you've given :D I'm glad you like this enough to read it again, considering how LONG it was (I hope you only meant it on a metaphorical way and didn't actually reread the whole thing) And thanks for the PM, it was really funny XD. The punch thing backfired... sorry, I just couldn't help myself. I'm a cursing fanatic, I just slips out of me in a natural way I guess, sorry.**

**Niah09: Ugh I hate having internet problems, I just feel like throwing the computer out the window. Which of the 'Peeta and I know it' did you watch? there's three of them (a lyric video, one with a guy with terrible timing, and one with a guy on the ground with bread being thrown at him) but the lyric video is my favorite. You don't have an email? How do you survive? XD. Awww, what a nice quote :3. A fight moment? that could work... I'll have to work on it, but maybe I can pull it off. Thanks for the sequel ideas :)**

**Givala: OMG I love that face O-O I always laugh when someone uses it. Thanks for the review, and cool profile pic, love the mustache.**

**Sierra strike: Thank you, so much, for the huge amount of reviews. I didn't give the pearl thing a lot of though; guess he got lucky? Yeah, let's go with that :). I can only mention you here, but know that I thank you for all those chapters where you dropped a review :D.**

**Sierra strike, thank you for adding this to your favorites :).**

**Well guys, see you later (hopefully soon). **


	17. The Missing And The Brokenhearted Part 1

***pokes head from behind a wall* Hey guys! Guess who's not dead? Sooo, you're probably wondering what the hell -to avoid the use of stronger language- happened to me, and maybe you're mad at me... *dodges brick* o-okay, I get it, and I really _am _sorry, is just that... How to explain this? To any of you who write, you must know the feeling of writers block, and I would love to say that's what happened to me; blame it on that would be great but it would be a total lie.**

**To be honest (because that's the least you guys deserve) I simply lost interest on this story. I started school a few weeks ago and with that, all my excitement to finish this just... banished. I knew that I had just left it without notice, and trust me, if anyone knew I was being a bitch it was me, but I simply could bring myself to write anymore.**

**Then I got this HUGE obsession with Resident Evil, and got this idea for a fanfic (which I will be posting later this day) and that was what got me back on track. Hopefully, having two different stories at the same time will keep my posting time in a regular state.**

**Anyways, that's enough rambling. you're here for the story after all, right ;D and again, sorry for the delay.**

* * *

I gasped, now soaked in cold water, and jumped away from where I used to be, dragging myself after landing painfully. Luca was standing outside of the cage, holding an old tea cup against his hip and looking down at me with an amused, yet friendly expression.

"Morning sunshine. How was your night? I hope it was of your liking" his tone wasn't cruel, but his sarcasm was evident. The way he acted was like he had just pulled a prank on his best friend, no hard feelings or dark intentions, but I knew it was just that; an act. Nico woke up at my gasp, and at how violently I pulled myself away from the wing he had wrapped around my waist, and was looking around in panic. It took him a moment to register what was going on, but when he did, his eyes landed on Luca.

I looked away from the glare exchange, well, only Nico was glaring while Luca looked rather entertained, and focused on the window. The sun was still rising, giving the sky an orange tone. It was that time of the day when you could actually look directly at the sun without hurting your eyes. I don't know about Pedro, but Anna is not a morning bird, giving Luca hours before anyone noticed we were gone. Unless they noticed last night, when neither of us got home, but I have a weird feeling that we're still not considered 'missing'. Even if they did notice, they're more than likely just as clueless to our whereabouts as I am.

"What, you didn't stay to keep an eye on us?"

"Here, with this cold? Are you crazy?" The black and red bird jumped on the lock on my side of the cage while I shook from how cold I was "Nah, I went home. Beside I trust you enough to leave you alone for a few hours" he flashed me a smile, which I didn't even consider returning as he unlocked and opened the cage. It took all my will power not to jump and make a run for it, but there was nothing in here that was playing in my favor. The window was closed, and those seconds that would take me to open it would be enough for someone to recapture me. Besides, there was no way I would leave Nico here.

Our cage had two exists, one on each side of the middle division. The lock on Nico's side was a combination lock, making it impossible for Nico to open it; both because of the fact of position and that he had no experience on lock picking. The lock on my side opened with a tiny key, too small for me to use my talons to break the lock open. I had thought of using part of the cage's bars, but the wire was too thick; besides, breaking the cage would be nigh impossible.

Luca stepped inside, earning a suspicious look from Nico, who took my wing on his discreetly. I hadn't even realized I had backed all the way into the division until now.

"Well I do hope you had some time to sleep. Wouldn't want you falling asleep" his smug smirk didn't escape my eyes "Although, I wouldn't mind waking you up again" I suppressed the need to scoff, hiding it with a cough. Luca finally reached me, offering me his wing, which I promptly brushed off, standing on my own. I could feel Nico mimicking my actions, his wing not leaving mine until Luca pulled me towards him "Mind if I borrow her for a while?" Nico swallowed what threatened to become a growl and glared at Luca, millions of silent threats clear in his eyes.

I noticed something in that moment. Without his bottle cap, that Luca wasn't wearing today, Nico's expressions seemed to look a little more exaggerated. Like last night, when his expression seemed a little softer while he slept, and like now, his eyes narrowed and beak pulled into a frown. If looks could kill, Luca would have probably turned into ash on the spot.

But still alive, Luca pulled me towards the exit, pushing me out harshly on the last bit. I landed ungracefully and started coughing, a smoke of dust surrounding me and refusing to dissipate. I blinked, my eyes tearing up from the dust, and finally took in my entire surroundings. Besides the four dirty walls and door I had noticed last night, I noticed a few things that had escaped me. There were a few pieces of furniture scattered about, like the table where our cage was, in the center of the room, a couch against the wall with a coffee table in front, and what looked like a book shelf next to the door; they were all covered in dusty white cloths, except for the couch, that had clearly seen better days, springs poking out and parts torn and stained. One of the walls showed a closed door and the other an empty door frame that lead to the kitchen, a stove in sight.

"Breakfast's ready, come on. Oh, and Kalli?" Luca grabbed my forewing and in one swift movement, not only did he get me on my feet, he got our faces just a fraction of an inch apart. His gaze on me was hard and dark, just like his whisper "Try anything funny, and I'll throw that cage in the ocean, your little friend included. Understood?" I nodded once, his face cheering up as he flew into the kitchen, probably expecting me to follow. I looked back at Nico once, gave him a reassuring smile that he returned with determination, and followed Luca.

The kitchen itself was pretty much the same as the other room, paint peeled off the wall, this time a soft blue, and a broken window covered with boards from the outside; this definetly wasn't the best apartment building in Rio, but that hole could have been a good escape route. There was a fridge in the corner, the sound coming from it telling me that it was still working, and a sink next to the stove. For what Luca said, there was still water in here. There was a table and a pair of chairs, all covered in white cloths. On the table were Luca and the others, eating a few pieces of fruit.

I landed hesitantly, suddenly feeling all eyes on me. Bruno was away from the others, only glancing at me once before looking away, Maia and Luca sitting together at the center. The latter threw a strawberry which I barely caught in time. I thought of sitting down, but the look on Maia's face froze me on the spot.

Luca looked at me expectantly "Well go on. Eat" I had to think it not twice, but three times, before actually biting the strawberry, slowly and carefully. Luca unwrapped the wing he had around Maia and set it in his lap, examining my face for a few moments. He was still looking at me intently, but more casually when he started talking "Here's the deal. I wasn't planning on bringing your friend over here, which I think you already know" I only had time to blink before he continued "So I'm gonna give you a choice. He can stay here, keep you company and take part on whatever I come up for him. Or I can let him go and bring someone else to take his place; Anna to be accurate. Your choice" I gapped at him, but he just glance at a clock I hadn't noticed on the wall "I'll be fair and give you… two minutes, starting… now"

My mind exploded with scenarios, options and voices, all at the same time. My body itself felt torn apart by a decision I didn't want to take. I couldn't keep Nico here, on a problem that wasn't his, to suffer something that he shouldn't go through. But I can't bring Anna here, not knowing that she's safe at the moment; I just can't put her in unnecessary danger. I glanced at the clock and noticed that time was going faster than I would like it, giving me only a minute. Nothing guaranties that after Luca's done with me, he won't look for Anna, but out there she has an actual chance of safety. But maybe if Nico leaves he can get help and come back. That idea was crushed when I remembered that we didn't know where we were… and that by the time he gets back we could be gone, in more than one way.

Besides, what if Luca let's Nico leave, but kills him once he's out? What if he hurts someone else when he goes for Anna? He hasn't broken any of his promises up till now, but I really don't feel like testing Luca's believability.

I glanced up at the clock and counted thirty seconds left.

I felt like I was about to hyperventilate, the amount of pressure on me far too great. I can't take one out of danger to put the other on it. One of them has a chance, but I shouldn't be the one deciding which of them. If it was anyone else then things would be easier, but this are two of the birds that I love most in my entire life. How can I even think of choosing?

I closed my eyes as hard as I could, trying to focus as hard as I could. The image of Nico being hit by Luca again made me wince, but the idea of Anna being pulled out of her nest by Maia or Bruno, or by Luca himself threatened to reduce me to tears. I couldn't do that to her, not ever. I can imagine her, waking up in a few hours and realizing that I'm not there, and then hearing that Nico's missing too. Pedro and Anna would be a wreck if they couldn't find us. If Luca acts the way I think he will, they'll never find us at all.

My eyes glanced up again –without permission might I add- and I noticed I had less than ten seconds left, if Luca kept his promise. Which, he most likely would.

Nico shouldn't be here, and the guilt will tear me apart at some point. Luca will use him to get to me, and we all know I got to be able to stay strong if something happens to the other canary. I can't drag someone into this, not someone that shouldn't be here. The terror of not being able to see Nico again as he is now, romantic, carefree, with that smile of his, makes my heart break.

Anna might look for us, there's even a chance she'd find us, but what she might find could kill her.

"Alright, times up" Luca clapped and stood, brushing some dust off his feathers. My knees were weak, my entire body threatening to collapse, but nothing happened. He stared at me, his annoyance showing more and more with each passing second in which I would say anything "Go on, we don't have all day. What's your choice?"

"I… I can't" It was barely a whisper. If he didn't hear, or if he was mocking me, I will never know.

"Come again? I didn't hear you"

"I can't" my shoulders started shaking, but I refused to let my tears fall; once I started I would never stop. Luca seemed surprised, but it didn't last long, a weird sympathetic look on his eyes as he walked my way.

"Though decision huh?" a small, chocked sob answered him "Don't worry, I'll help you" he immediately flew into the other room, where I could hear how he unlocked the cage. I got there as fast as I could, but the moment I landed I was held back by Bruno. Luca was already inside of Nico's side of the cage, a glare match taking place between them.

"It's really easy Kalli, you just need to decide what hurts most" something between a sob and a yelp escaped me, distracting Nico long enough for Luca to jump on him. Nico tried to block the punch thrown at him, but only got rammed against the cage's bars. Luca used his foot to make Nico trip, the canary falling face first before getting his wing pulled behind his back. He let out a small cry of pain, biting it back after just a second. But the sound was enough to break my already injured heart "this or Anna paying us a little visit. Who knows, you might even enjoy yourself if she joins us"

"I can't, I-I can't" I shook my head frantically, tears streaming down my face and sobs shaking my entire body "Luca p-please don't do th-this"

"It's a simple choice Kalli; his life or hers" he tightened his hold on Nico, the latter hissing quietly "Choose"

"No, I can't, no"

"Choose"

"I can't!"

"Choose now, or I'll just kill them both!" Luca pulled Nico up and rammed him against the bars once more, the singer's eyes clam shut. When they opened he just looked at me in a way that made me cry harder.

"I can't! If you want to, kill me now, but don't make me choose, I can't, I can't, I…" my voice broke, an almost pathetic and broken sob escaping me. Then another and another followed, my frame shaking badly. My knees finally gave in, my body falling to the ground like dead weight. Bruno couldn't stop me in time, my knees brushing the cloth full of dust before he got a better hold on me. But it was weird, it was like he wasn't just trying to hold me back, but just hold me, in the simplest sense of the word. Maybe it was because he knew it didn't matter if he held me back, I would just collapse down on the ground. He finally let me go, staying behind me in case I tried anything.

Luca pulled at Nico's wing harder, to the point were part of my mind was waiting for the sound that told me the wing was no longer in place, but the only sound I heard were my own sobs. And then something else.

"Luca" Bruno's voice sounded out of place, his stern deep tone managing to be heard over my cries like he was on another conversation, and not on this scene. His voice was enough to snap Luca out of his crazed and cruel state, making him blink once before releasing Nico, who slipped down until he reached the ground, cradling his wing with a pained expression. Luca flew out and locked Nico again before giving me a harsh look.

"Since you can't make a decision, then I will. He'll stay for now, I'll figure out what to do about Anna. Actually it's better this way" he seemed to find a twisted bright side out of everything "While you die of guilt here for getting him into this, Anna will be dying out there, unable to find you and looking for you like crazy. Maybe I'll pay her visit later, put her mind at ease" he left the apartment after that, Maia already waiting by the window, leaving Bruno, Nico and me behind.

The Blackcap tried to pull me up, but my legs weren't working anymore. I couldn't control my cries, no matter how hard I tried. I was at that point where your back arcs every time you try to breath, shaking horribly but unable to make a single sound. I would only make the occasional sound of deep shaky breaths, followed by a cry and the silence once more. Bruno somehow managed to get me on the cage, and I waited for a shove. But it never happened. Bruno simply laid me down next to the metal bars separating me and Nico, my body dragging itself towards the other canary.

Only my beak fitted through the bars, but that was more than enough for me to find comfort on Nico's shoulder. He hugged me with one wing, the other one still hurt but rubbing the wing that I had on his waist none the less. I heard the door of the cage closing and then the lock being put in place, then a pair of wings flying away. However, I didn't hear the window opening again, telling me that Bruno was still here, somewhere. But I shoved that into the back of my mind, trying to focus all my strength in talking properly. But I was still crying too much, giving Nico the chance to beat me to it.

"Kalli, look at me, it's okay. Kalli calm down, breath" seeing that I was about to hyperventilate, Nico shook me once "Kalliope" that alone was enough to get me back to normal for a few seconds "listen to me, you need to breath" I nodded, managing to reduce my cries a little bit. I started taking in deep, shaky breaths, only resulting on my voice shaking twice as much as I would have wanted it.

Not the best of times for all the fear I've been holding back to come out.

"I'm s-so sorry, Nico. I-I'm s-so so sor-ry"

"Why?" his tone was calm, still trying to get me to calm down. I, for some reason, shook my head as much as the bars would allow me too.

"I c-could have gotten y-you out o-o-of here"

"They wouldn't have been able to move me from this cage, not even bribing me with my bottle cap" I actually managed to choke out a laugh, my voice all but breaking "I wouldn't leave you here, not even if it means getting locked"

"They could kill you" I couldn't bite my tongue in time to stop that from coming out. Nico stiffened ever so slightly, a small silence falling between us. Finally he nudged my beak up, my eyes meeting his.

"I wouldn't give my life for anyone else" I don't know what hurt me the most; the honesty in his voice, the look in his eyes, or the fact that he might be doing just that at the end. Giving his life for me. Because of me. My vision blurred once more, my chin resting in his shoulder in an attempt to hide my face from him.

We haven't been awake for even half an hour and they already managed to reduce me to tears. Any hopes I had to hold on for at least a few days are long gone. I just hope Nico can last longer, because if we both break down, it'll be the end of us.

* * *

A few hours later my panic was gone, morphing into boredom and nervousness. One would think that boredom would be the last thing that'd hit you during a life threatening situation, but I simply couldn't help it. I was tired enough to start falling asleep, but to worried to accomplish it, and Luca had been gone for hours. I couldn't see the sun through the window anymore, but it was probably midday; Anna and the others must know something's wrong by now.

Time had gone by in a weird way, sometimes fast and sometimes painfully slow; I think even Bruno is getting bored of watching us. Nico and I were sitting back to back while the Blackcap inspected the apartment looking for something interesting. He had opened and closed the same drawers at least three times each, as if time would make something appear out of thin air, and even threw some of the white cloths covering the pieces of furniture to the ground, making clouds of dust to settle in the air.

He had despaired in the kitchen almost half an hour ago, and I swear I could hear frustrated grunts from there. I could feel Nico move a little, his back brushing against mine, and start humming a new song. He had been humming and singing for the last hour, with me joining in on the few songs I knew and simply enjoying his voice when I didn't know the score. When I didn't sing or hum along, he would make arrangements into the songs, changing the rhythm and making them slower, getting a smile on my beak song after song. At first Bruno had looked at Nico like he was considering asking him to shut up, but he didn't say a single word; not that Nico would have stopped anyways.

He started singing and I immediately joined, knowing this song backwards.

"_You are the hole in my head, You are the space in my bed, You are the silence in between, What I thought, what I said" _I saw Bruno flying out of the kitchen and land on top of the bookshelf _"You are the nighttime fear, you are the morning when it's clear. When it's over, you're the start. You're my head and you're my heart" _Bruno glanced at us for a moment before taking off the long, white cloth and letting it land on the ground with a loud 'thump'. The cloud of smoke that formed was enough to get a coughing fit out of him, earning a satisfied chuckle from Nico.

I simply looked as Bruno's coughs subsided, after having to use the wall for support, and sent a glare our way.

Even when I couldn't see Nico's face, I knew he had a smile that matched that chuckle.

"Nico?" Nico glanced back to see my face.

"Yeah?"

I looked up at where Bruno was going through the books, his feathers a deeper shade of gray due to the amount of dust in the air. All the questions I had for Nico suddenly started to die in my throat, fearing that Bruno might hear us. I wanted to ask him if he had seen anything that could work for an escape, or if had any idea in what part of town we were at; maybe The Branch wasn't that far away, but since we didn't hear any music last night it seemed unlikely.

But more than all I wanted to ask him about what he said last night. Luca and him arguing, and then Nico telling him about knowing what it felt like to lose a sibling was something that would kept nagging me until I asked him, but the Blackcap's presence made it impossible. Who knew what he could tell Luca, or what the latter would do with such personal information. But it was more due to the fact of someone else hearing it that made me think Nico wouldn't tell me.

So instead of that tangle of questions I simply asked "You think Anna and the others are looking for us?"

Nico turned his body around, looking at me like if expecting me to be kidding "Sure. I mean, we've been gone for hours, it wouldn't surprise me if they were looking for us all night long"

He smiled, probably at something that flashed through his mind, and I tried to mimic his action. I only managed to pull my beak into a frown. I can only think of all the birds that we know looking for us until dawn. Guilt settled on my stomach and almost made me groan out loud. Nico seemed to sense something was wrong, but a series of loud noises stopped anything he planned on saying.

Bruno was literally throwing book after book over his shoulder, the old pages spitting out dust, and some other things, as they hit the ground.

"Not the most gentle, is he?" Nico murmured, but Bruno simply ignored him. Some of the lighter books fell without damage, but the heavy ones looked like they would snap in half if as much as a page landed on them.

"Nope" I hummed in response, not really caring if Bruno tore down the walls of the apartment at this point. Maybe he'll tear the cage open too, although I doubt we're that lucky.

I glanced down at some of the books and suddenly a spark of recognition lighted itself in my mind. I walked away from Nico, who had to look at me twice to make sure I wasn't there, and cocked my head to the side, trying to figure out what exactly called my attention from the discarded books.

I heard Nico calling for me, but I didn't answer. I was too caught up on what I was doing –or trying to do- at the moment.

Most of the books were the same; all colorful, thick, and at least three times taller than me, some of them with pictures on the covers. I scratched the ones that had titles with the words 'medicine' or 'philosophy', eliminating at least half of them. I scanned the rest with my eyes a few times, scolding my mind for playing tricks on me since I couldn't find whatever I was looking for.

And then I found it. Under what looked like the heaviest encyclopedia in the history of books, I could see most of the cover of a small book. It was one of the few with pictures, or in this case, drawings, on the cover; it showed a field with green, tall, soft-looking grass, with a light blue sky covered in huge, white clouds. Near the bottom was a small woman's figure, a building towering over her. Most would say it was a weird turtle with a house and smoke on it, but I knew it was a castle.

"Kalli?" Nico's voice finally reached my ears. Who knows how many times he's called my name while I was on my dazed state.

"Howl's Moving Castle…"

"…What?"

"I know it. Dad used to read it to Anna and me all the time. I love that book" I felt two pairs of eyes on me, both curious and slightly confused, but I simply focused on the deep brown eyes behind me "Do you know it?"

Nico shook his head, and with that, boredom simply disappeared from my vocabulary for the next two hours. I sat back down, my legs stretching through the metal bars that separated us so that Nico could rest his head on them, and started telling him everything I remembered from the book, from beginning to end. I ran a few flight feathers through the feathers on his head, surprised at the soft feeling they had, and kept talking until Nico's breathing became even.

I fell asleep a few minutes later, not really bothering to move from my current spot and trying not to think too hard of how Luca would wake me up next time.

* * *

**So, I know that probably wasn't the best chapter... it was more like a filler... dear Mother Nature, I'm a bad author.**

**Anyways, let us answer the reviews (You probably don't even remember what you reviewed -.-):**

**Emmerzk: OMN, I'm so sorry for not updating! You must want to throw a grenade at me right now (and you kind of have the right to...). Next chapter will tell both Nico's story and Luca's whole torture plan. I hope I can control my killer instincts ;). This one's a little longer, just for you :D**

**Claret Tho: Yes, yes it does, as we will se next chapter. Thanks for the review (and sorry for not updating sooner)**

**Givala: Why does every one hate Luca? I love him, but that's probably 'cause he's my OC... XD. I KNOOWWW, he's the cutest thing ever! My mother found it and I screamed in the store (got some really weird look from other people XD). You said the exact same thing my friend said after we watched it... but I cried too. I tend to cry in every single movie I watch. Do you, by any chance, have a Deviantart account? I think I' following you there... but I could be wrong.**

**ILOVENICO1000X: XD, he should try with some breathing exercises. The bottle cap shall get back to his rightful owner soon! Luca, you're paying for that (sorry honey *pats Luca's head*. I hope you guys will like the back story (I'm all worried).**

**Niah09: I do have a DA account (just have like 5 drawings tho) and I like whatever structure you give to your reviews :) it always makes me happy when you guys take the time. Brave was such a good movie; one of those times were you can actually go out and smile because of two hours of your life that you used perfectly :). AWW, but I love it when you give me ideas! OMN! You made my entire eternity when you mentioned Sam Tsui! He is so amazing, I'm shocked that people don't know him. He should be, like, famous worldwide. All his songs are awesome, but I like his 'Titanium' cover sooo much. And I think I do believe in ghosts, but I'm not a super believer. I do get scared by those kind of stuff really easy tho. **

**Savannah: Awww, thanks for loving it! makes me so happy, you have no idea how much! **

**GAH! DON'T HATE ME! PLEASE! *sigh* I know I don't deserve it, but can I ask you to leave a review? You can even tell me how mad you are at me, but just tell me something. ANYTHING!**


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